DAVE Artell says he is relishing the competition provided by Crewe's influx of new faces ahead of another away challenge at Shrewsbury on Saturday (K.O 3pm).

The short trip to the Montgomery Waters Meadow is the Railwaymen's seventh away game in their opening nine games in league and cup.

But while the fixture list has been far from kind, Artell says his new-look team need to strike a more consistent streak in League One, where without a win they currently occupy the second bottom spot.

It is understood that all the club's recent newcomers: Scott Kashket, Scott Robertson, J'Neil Bennett and Madger Gomes, are fit and available for the Salop clash, but striker Chris Long is still sidelined by injury.

"I've enjoyed the last week as we can concentrate on the football," admitted the Crewe boss. "The [new] players have responded to what we're after; they're good players in their own right but they've got to become a collective group and take things forward.

"When you're naming six subs at Oxford the team picks itself, so it has been nice to assess the merits of one players versus another and the best players to select to get the three points."

Shrewsbury have also endured an indifferent start and are one place above Crewe, having won one of their opening six fixtures.

But the similarities end there as far as Artell is concerned and he is expecting his revamped side to be featuring higher up the table than the Shrews as the campaign develops.

"I do think we are different football clubs," said the manager. "But Steve Cotterill has done a remarkable job and Shrewsbury have a good chairman who produces stability.

"They have got their issues as every football club has, but I am sure they are different to ours.

"But we know this will be a tough game and it's a tough place to go."

After an unsettling period, which has seen incomings, outgoings, contract wrangles and the squad being hit by a norovirus bug, Artell has been able to focus on Saturday's game after last Saturday's home game with Morecambe was cancelled due to international call-ups.

"We've lost players, but we sort of knew this was coming. We tried to delay it, like for example Harry Pickering coming back on loan. But we have got to do a certain amount of that - there is success for us in developing and selling players.

"But we don't want that big churn, although the market and players dictated that.

"There's work to do, but we have got a great chance of having a very successful season."