CITY fans hoping that Crewe will be feeling deflated by Aston Villa’s six-goal salute may be disappointed.

Alex were dumped out of the Carabao Cup midweek in emphatic fashion after being beaten 6-1 by the Premier League visitors.

But boss David Artell insists that heads will remain high despite the heavy margin of defeat.

He felt the one-sided scoreline was misleading and harsh on his team, who still mustered 17 shots on Villa’s goal even with the tie well beyond them.

And he is confident there will be no lingering hangover when the Bantams make their first visit since 2016.

“It was a great experience for everyone and I said to the players afterwards that I want more nights like this at our ground,” he said.

“I told them that we only get them by being successful and being winners.

“Now that could be in the league, a play-off semi-final, a big FA Cup tie or an EFL Trophy quarter-final, with something really riding on it.”

His Villa counterpart Dean Smith mentioned the “bright, young players” in the Crewe ranks – a traditional production line that continues to roll on at Gresty Road. Eighteen-year-old Rio Adebisi was handed his senior debut on Tuesday night.

In League Two terms, Crewe have made a decent start.

Having lost 3-0 at home to Plymouth on opening day, they bounced back with three wins in a row to become the early pace-setters as well as knocking out Middlesbrough on penalties in the Carabao Cup first round.

Last Saturday’s 1-0 loss at unbeaten Newport pushed them off top spot and Artell made four changes for the Villa clash. Another reshuffle is expected against City.

He said: “It doesn’t matter if it is against Aston Villa, Bradford, Burton or Grimsby, it shouldn’t matter. They all want to play and that’s what you want as a manager."