CREWE Alexandra boss Steve Davis is calling on his players to “fight for the shirt” as they stare down the barrel of relegation.

Following Saturday’s 3-0 defeat away at Peterborough, The Alex will be relegated to League Two on Saturday if they fail to beat local rivals Port Vale and fellow strugglers Blackpool avoid defeat against Colchester.

With their fate still just about in their own hands, Davis says anyone who is not pulling their weight can leave as they look to boost their supporters with a ‘derby’ win.

“We want people who are prepared to fight for the shirt,” he said.

“If they’re not, they can go. The one thing I want them to do is fight and for the first time this season at Peterborough there was a lack of that. We saw the first signs of that from quite a few of them, and that will never happen while I’m here.

“What we did at Peterborough was not good enough.

“There are not many playing anywhere near to their potential.”

Saturday’s reverse made it five defeats in a row and stretched their winless run to 11 games, making the prospect of League Two football next season a little more of a certainty.

Davis thinks the adverse results have affected the mindset of some of his players and believes some of them may think the game is lost before kick-off.

He also said there was no place for such mentality in a game away at their local rivals.

“We have got to get out of the habit of thinking that we will end up losing,” he said.

“The results have certainly affected a few of them in that respect.

“We have perhaps got to be angrier with each other out on the pitch and not just let things pass by.

“I am learning about my players more now than at any other point of the season.

“What we need is those real characters to step forward because if they don’t stand up this weekend then they will get found out at Port Vale.

“It is a big pitch against a local rival and we need to be a lot better.”

First-team coach James Collins agreed the performance at Peterborough was unacceptable but thinks the Port Vale clash has come at the right time.

“They are all important games but the Port Vale fixtures were the ones we all looked for first in pre-season,” he said.

“The Vale game has come at a really good time for us. Despite the circumstances, the players know what it means to the supporters to beat Port Vale. With the hype and attention a derby gets in the build-up, if the players are not up for it then there is something wrong.”

After Vale, The Alex host Scunthorpe on April 16, Colchester on April 19, visit Oldham on April 23 and conclude the term at home to Doncaster on April 30.