DAVE Artell says he is happy to let bygones be bygones with Karl Robinson when Crewe return to Oxford tomorrow for their twice-postponed clash.

Robinson sparked a war of words between the clubs after he questioned whether Crewe had followed Covid-19 protocols when the first game was called off after Omar Beckles' positive coronavirus test on October 3.

The re-arranged fixture was also cancelled on October 13.

Oxford skipper John Mousinho appears to have stoked the flames again slightly ahead of tomorrow night's game at the Kassam Stadium, but Crewe boss Artell is ready to move on.

"I'll shake his (Robinson's) hand and wish him the best - and hopefully we'll play a game of football, that's what we want to happen," said Artell.

Mousinho told the Oxford Mail ahead of the game: "We do owe them one. I think we felt particularly aggrieved by those two cancellations, so it would be nice to get one over them.

But he also added: "I suspect when you're in the heat of the battle, what's happened a couple of months ago and the way Crewe have handled themselves in these games isn't going to make too much of a difference.

"I hope there's more motivation within the lads that we're in a really poor league position."

Oxford are down in 21st place in the League One table, but have only played nine games.

Crewe's morale-boosting win over leaders Peterborough at the weekend moved them up to 13th spot, but Artell stressed: "Oxford are in a false position. They were play-off finalists four months ago and you don't become a bad team in that time."

"Karl will certainly think they're better than where they are at the moment, but you have to look at the number of games they've played.

"We know they are a good team as we've had them watched."

Meanwhile, Artell says young defender Luke Offord fully deserved the new three-year contract he penned at the end of last week.

The 20-year-old has made a significant impact since breaking into the side back in January, becoming a permanent fixture at centre-half. He was previously under contract until the end of the season with an option of a further two years.

"What Luke has done in 20 odd games is phenomenal," said Artell. "As a centre-half you've got to be consistent and mistake-free and he has been so far.

"On Saturday he came up against Jonson Clarke-Harris, who is a physically imposing striker, and I don't remember him having a kick.

"He has the nuances of defending that a 30-year-old would have, but he's only 21 next week. His temperament is second to none."

Crewe's promising talent is in the sight of higher clubs without a doubt, but Artell says the appearance of Steve Bruce at Gresty Road for the weekend game might not necessarily have been a scouting visit.

"It was an international break and his son (Alex) trained with us for a number of weeks. I don't know whether he came to watch a player or not. He asked to come and we had his visit cleared by the EFL in terms of Covid protocols," outlined the manager.

"He could have just been watching a game of football with his son.

"Steve is one of the nicest men I've met in football - he's just a humble man."