³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Crewe Alexandra have parted company with manager David Artell following their relegation from League One.

The club's fate was sealed with four games remaining by Saturday's 2-0 loss at Doncaster Rovers.

The defeat was their 15th in 16 matches - a depressing run broken only by a 2-1 away win at Cheltenham on 26 February.

Artell's former assistant Alex Morris has been named as interim first-team manager, with under-23s boss Lee Bell working alongside him.

Former Crewe academy player Morris, 38, had to pack in football because of injuries and never played a first-team game - but he has worked his way through the ranks at the Alex on the coaching side.

He was under-23s manager before being appointed assistant boss in a backroom reshuffle in March.

Artell, who won seven international caps for Gibraltar during his playing career, was appointed in January 2017 following the sacking of Steve Davis and agreed a 12-month rolling contract that summer.

He was previously a member of the side, managed by Davis, which won promotion from League Two in 2012 by beating Cheltenham Town in the play-off final.

Artell matched his predecessor by guiding them to promotion on average points per game in 2020 after the season was curtailed by the Covid pandemic, with Crewe second in the table.

He guided them to a safe mid-table finish in League One last season but, after a draw in their opening game of the current campaign, they have never been higher in the table than 21st and have been at the bottom since mid-February.

Speaking following Saturday's game, an emotional Artell told ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio Stoke that relegation had been "a long time in the making".

The 41-year-old said: "I think we've had six 17 and 18 year old's make their debuts [this season] and play a good number of games and, however it's come about, that's the situation we are in.

"By and large, the young kids have done ever so well, but across the board we haven't been good enough."

Graham McGarry, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio Stoke's reporter on the Alex since 1988

It takes a lot of soul-searching before Crewe Alexandra ever elect to make any change of manager - and this one was no different.

But, after five years and 91 days, David Artell's reign as boss has come to an end, and the Alex board of directors have moved quickly to make a change following relegation.

It has been a dreadful run of results: 15 defeats in the last 16 games, the most defeats in the EFL, eight on the spin and just six wins from 42 League One fixtures.

Artell was the eighth longest-serving manager in English league football but that left him in a precarious position - and his position had become untenable.