'Long may it continue' - Bell happy to stay Crewe boss

Lee Bell began his playing career with Crewe and had a second spell with the club before moving into coaching

Lee Bell said he turned down the chance to manage another club because Crewe Alexandra is an "amazing place" and he wanted to show his "complete commitment" to them.

The Alex announced on Monday that Bell had rejected an official approach from an unnamed club to stay with the League Two promotion contenders.

Bell, 41, has been Crewe boss since December 2022 when he was given the job permanently following a short interim period in charge.

In that time, he has taken the club to the League Two play-off final and overseen another promotion challenge this season with the club currently third in the table.

"We're all on that big red bus, looking to push forward," Bell told BBC Radio Stoke.

"It's a good place to be and there's so much hard work to do to maintain it. There'll be no letting off the gas from us."

The club highlighted Bell's "total commitment" to the Alex's cause when revealing he wanted to stay in charge.

"That's all I've got - complete and utter commitment to the football club," he said.

"This club's been so good to me and I wanted to reiterate that commitment."

Bell singled out the "amazing" support given to him by his immediate staff - including assistant boss Ryan Dicker, player development manager Kenny Lunt and match analyst Luke Foulkes - as further reasons to carry on.

He also highlighted his enjoyment at working with his playing squad.

"I know I'm not particularly old but they're keeping me young," he said. "They put a smile on my face every day and obviously results help with that.

"I do think there's more opportunity for us to grow as team but that takes hard work. It's an amazing place to be and long may it continue."