DAVE Artell says Crewe are the best prepared they have been in recent weeks ahead of their must-win clash with relegation rivals Fleetwood Town.

The cancellation of last weekend's trip to MK Dons has afforded the Alex a fortnight's break and Artell has made the most of it to prepare his players for the start of a critical period of games against fellow strugglers.

"We've got more ideas over to the players in the last two weeks than the last two months and hopefully that will bear fruit in the forthcoming games," said the Crewe boss.

"Fleetwood is a big game and there is no getting around the fact that for some of the players it will be their biggest game of their career. We know what's at stake and we've got to make sure we win the game.

"It is there for us to take. You can't ask for much more than the opportunities we've been presented with, but we've not taken one yet."

Had the MK clash not be re-arranged for next Tuesday night (April 5), Crewe would have faced three of the current bottom five in consecutive fixtures; Fleetwood (h) (Apr 2), Doncaster (a) (April 9) and AFC Wimbledon (h) (April 15).

The Crewe boss admits any hopes of mounting a relegation escape rest on winning all three of those games.

If they were to do so it would bridge the nine-point advantage fifth-bottom Fleetwood have on them.

And with points at a premium among all the current bottom five it could present Artell's men with the lifeline they have failed to grasp this year, including in games like the agonising last-minute defeat (0-1) last time out against Bolton.

League One's bottom five among them have managed to take just four points from each of their last five outings - a combined total of 75 games - which suggests a points tally of around the 40 mark will be enough to survive the drop.

The Crewe boss says the low points yield at the bottom of the division demonstrates the widening gulf in resources between clubs which is comparable to the Premier League.

"It's not going to be 50 points this year. It is the dichotomy between the haves and the have nots," he said.

"Why do you not need 50 points [to stay up] in the Premier League? Because the difference between Liverpool and Manchester City and Watford and Burnley is huge, so getting 35 points is enough.

"There is every chance that getting 41 or around that number will be enough [in League One].

Artell believes his players can draw motivation from being written off by many – online social media postings from many fans appear to have abandoned any sense of optimism weeks ago.

"If anyone thinks they are under pressure they need to forget all that. Everyone is writing us off and we need to use that as fuel and motivation to prove the doubters wrong. That is what we've got to do as team and as a football club."

And of the game against the Cod Army, Artell added: "I am not sure it is going to be an open flowing football game. It is going to be fairly cagey and we know what we've got to try and do. We've got to be better than the opposition and take our chances.

"I'm not being disrespectful to Fleetwood, but they're not Sunderland or Sheffield Wednesday. They are one of the teams that are closer to us in terms or resources and we've got to grasp the opportunity that is in front of us.

"We're running out of games and we've got to take these opportunities."

Meanwhile, Scott Kashket will be given more time to prove his fitness for selection after the attacker negotiated around 35 minutes of Tuesday night's Cheshire Senior Cup semi-final at Stockport.

It was the former Wycombe man's first action since November 28 when he started at Ipswich.

But the Alex boss says the 26-year-old, who is out of contract in the summer, will be treated with "kids gloves" as he mounts his comeback from an ankle injury.

A youthful Alex side, which included an under-16 and a clutch of first-year scholars, went down to a 5-0 defeat against the National League leaders at Edgeley Park.

"We put two young pros in to give the others a bit of help. But you saw their team and they are all men. It was tough for them but you talk about opportunity and that will stand them in good stead," said the manager.