DAVE Artell says he was impressed with Crewe's trio of new recruits making their league debuts in the weekend draw at Shrewsbury.

Scott Kashket and J'Neill Bennett added pace and guile to the Alex attack, while Celtic loan youngster Scott Robertson was robust in the middle of the park.

The three are among the most recent arrivals of an influx of new players at the Mornflake Stadium over the summer as Artell has been forced to rebuild a squad hit by some key departures.

While Robertson enjoyed a run-out at Salop in the Papa John's Trophy at the end of last month, former Wycombe man Kashket and Tottenham teenager Bennett were appearing for the first time at the Montgomery Waters Meadow - and all three made their mark with their new boss.

"I thought Scott Robertson was the best player on the pitch, J'Neill was extremely exciting and Scott Kashket was lively. I was pleased with those three, but I was also pleased with the majority of the players," declared Artell, who admits that while the performance was an improvement on several others during a difficult opening away schedule it is hard to gauge against the level of opposition.

The manager add: "Our play was good in patches and it looked more Crewe-like and more how I want us to play, so that was positive. Was it a stiff challenge? And that's not derogatory of Shrewsbury, but we're going to face stiffer challenges such as Sheffield Wednesday and Wigan.

"I'm sure Shrewsbury would say the same about us, so we have to put it into a bit of perspective. But if we keep developing as we have done over the last week then I am sure we'll keep improving."

Injuries and paperwork are restricting the availability of three other new faces, all of whom are unlikely to be ready to face Burton on Saturday

Exciting Manchester City loan attacker Ben Knight has suffered a muscle injury, which kept him out at Shrewsbury and Artell says he does not know how long he will be in the treatment room, but added it was not "serious, serious".

Striker Chris Long is out for three weeks after breaking down in training after a return from a foot injury.

Meanwhile, Spanish midfielder Madger Gomes needs to have EU settlement papers processed by the Home Office before he can feature for his new club.

Back-to-back home games against the Brewers on Saturday and a re-arranged visit of Morecambe next Tuesday evening (September 21) heralds a welcome return to the South Cheshire after a hefty round of away trips.

On Burton, Artell admitted: "They are hard to play against and hard to break down. And they've got some matchwinners and we have to be prepared for a different challenge."