Crewe's youngsters cannot be bullied - Lee

Crewe Alexandra manager Lee Bell said their opening-day win at Crawley was further proof that his young side can stand up to the physical demands of League Two and cannot be "bullied" in games.

The Alex have a long-standing tradition of blooding young players which, Lee said, has led to a perception that they are a soft touch.

But their hard-fought 2-1 win on Saturday, with seven players aged 23 or under involved, was the latest example of that myth being busted.

"There used to be an old saying of coming to Crewe and we'll get on top of them and we'll try to bully them, and a bunch of kids, and all this but not this group," Lee told BBC Radio Stoke.

"They'll stand up to what's thrown at them and then I think we've got some ability out there to be able to then control games.

"I hope it's gone away [the perception]. I've worked hard to try to get rid of that label for the last few years because there has been times in the past when teams come with a bit more physicality and we were right up there defending for the size of our team in terms of set-pieces but they have to be able to compete.

"If you can win your duels inside your box [it] nullifies something like 85% of the attacks so it's really, really important that we puff our chests out and we give as good as what we get."

As pleased as Lee was with the three points at Crawley, he was keen to see it in the context of it being the first game of the season.

"It's a good start and that's all it is in terms of the results," he said.

"We want to see a little bit more control in terms of how we want to play. We do like to get in behind the opposition but we're doing it from the wrong areas of the pitch so we've got to build the ball up a little bit more."

Lee added how much work-rate is key to their plans.

"The players that have come through in the last couple years know me know and what what I'm about, what I demand in terms of what they have to do out of possession and winning duels. So I've been quite lucky in that sense.

"You've got to be an exceptional player every week to not compete and work hard for your team-mates because the best teams do in the division."