DAVE Artell says Crewe need to get "back on the horse" amid an increasingly busy fixture schedule.

The Alex boss wants his players to put their weekend bashing at Portsmouth (1-4) behind them at Accrington Stanley tomorrow night (K.O 7pm).

The September start to the campaign has added to the pressures of moving up to a higher level with the trip to East Lancashire handing the Alex a sixth consecutive week of midweek fixtures - and that pattern continues for another three weeks.

Artell has also highlighted the degree of difficulty of the club's opening 13 games - Crewe have played seven of the current top eight.

The impact of the busy schedule on the treatment room has been largely minimised so far, with only summer signing Donervon Daniels ruled out for a protracted period of time.

But niggling injuries have been picked up. Leading scorer Mikael Mandron was pulled out of the game at Fratton Park with a hamstring problem and defender Omar Beckles was taken off at the interval as a precautionary measure as he was feeling a tight calf.

"Mikael was cramping up, but he did come with us to Portsmouth and just missed out playing. We thought as we have lots of games coming up we'll see how he is," explained the Crewe manager.

"With Omar it was more precautionary than anything else and we felt we had to be a bit careful."

A year ago Crewe were triumphant (2-0) in an FA Cup first round tie at the Crown Ground/Wham Stadium and Artell knows only too well the challenge lying ahead against a side shaped by John Coleman's no-nonsense character.

"We'll have to get back on the horse. We've had a bit of a blip on Saturday, but we've got to be ready for Accrington. We've got to go again against a hard-working Accrington team," he said.

"We know what we're going to get from a John Coleman team, so we've got to be on the money.

"They are a well-run club and they have got an identity. But we there in the cup last season and did well and we've got to do it again."

Ninth-placed Stanley have former Crewe loan defender Michael Nottingham in their ranks after his switch from Blackpool. Nottingham was a solid performer in 12 starts for Crewe before League Two was paused in March.

Artell said: "Accrington paid £30,000 for Michael so that shows how good he is. But we had four or five months with him so we know his weaknesses and his strengths. He's a good kid and a lovely fellow, but it is up to us to expose his weaknesses."