CREWE face relegation within the week after another demoralising home defeat against drop rivals Fleetwood.

Reverses at MK Dons on Tuesday night and Doncaster, next Saturday, would all but mathematically seal a return to League Two after two years with four games still to complete of what has been a miserable campaign.

The Cod Army, without a win in their last 13 games, closed out victory with a timely double substitution in the second half.

The experienced Anthony Pilkington and Ellis Harrison came off the bench to sink vital goals after Chris Long had cancelled out Harvey Macadam's 18th-minute opener.

Boss Dave Artell admitted it was a "disastrous result", but still believes he can pick his players off the canvas to ensure a competitive finale.

Sadly, it seems a forlorn hope and even with hapless Donny lying in wait it is hard to see where the next win will come from.

The same could have been said for Fleetwood beforehand, but they made it count when it mattered in the final third, although they got a helping hand.

There are those among the fan base who reject the club's recent backroom restructure and want it to go further. But they are mainly venting their fury from behind a laptop screen.

While an eighth consecutive home defeat would be enough for the trigger to be pulled elsewhere it is fair to say there has been little dissent against Artell in the stands during a run which has seen 13 losses compiled from 14 fixtures.

Have Alex fans resigned themselves to League Two football for some weeks?

Perhaps it is time to plan ahead and see who is fit and ready for the task of mounting a promotion challenge next year.

At least six of today's starting line-up are unlikely to be around come August, but a dreadful injury list which includes January signings Dan Agyei and Tariq Uwakwe have restricted the manager's options to make changes.

His players may not have shrunk at the task - and to be fair against a side equally low on confidence and injury-hit it wasn't a gargantuan one – but they simply lacked quality when it mattered.

Chris Porter wasted headers from juicy positions. Oli Finney inexplicably failed to get a header on target from relative close range after being set up by Tommy Lowery.

Finney, who has been largely out of sorts since his leg break last year, may have made the difference if he'd buried that one.

Long, who does run tirelessly for the cause, levelled in first-half stoppage time with a thumping strike into the corner from the edge of the D.

But with the game on a knife edge Pilkington was allowed to ghost in to flick a header into the far corner to restore the visitors' lead in the 64th minute.

And after Pilkington's shot was parried by Dave Richards, Harrison forced the rebound over the line despite the keeper's attempts (72).

"We all knew the magnitude of the game and we made it abundantly clear to the players beforehand. When you put it all together it's a disastrous result," admitted Artell.

"For the first 15 to 20 minutes of the second half Fleetwood couldn't get out of their half.

"The first time they do they score and we went down with a whimper, which is the disappointing thing. The third goal was a nail in the coffin.

"It is the third game in recent weeks the opposition have made two substitutions and they have scored. That shows where we are at and the effect that can have on us."

And the manager added: "You've got to have character and courage to get on the ball. You've got to want the ball and run around. You've got to trust your mate, but for some of them it must be creeping in.

"You can't lose eight on the spin, that's not random luck is it?

"But we've still got a lot of young kids and we have to stick with them. They've got to be more consistent and we've got to drag it out of them, they've got to drag it out of themselves and we've got to make sure the next six games don't become a foregone conclusion."

Fleetwood manager Stephen Crainey said: "It was a real solid performance from start to finish and while it was disappointing that Crewe got the goal just before half-time our response in the second half was outstanding.

"It was a real collective effort that got us over the line."

Crewe: Richards; Johnson, Offord, Williams (O'Riordan); Ainley, Murphy (Harper), Lowery, Finney, Kashket (Sambou); Porter, Long Subs: Jaaskelainen, Lundstram, Griffiths, Onyeka

Fleetwood: Cairns; Jules, Clark, Nsiala; Garner (Harrison), Johnson, Camps, Biggins (Batty), Lane; Hayes (Pilkington), Macadam. Subs: Harrop, Butterworth, O'Hara, Bagley

Attendance: 3,813