“After 20 minutes we should have put the game out of their reach but didn’t and I had to let my players know how I felt.
“We took our foot off the gas midway through the first half which gave them hope but we lifted ourselves after the break and I am really delighted for all the players.
“Now we must find out if we can progress from here as the higher you are in the league the greater the pressure.”
Crewe assistant boss Neil Baker
“We were completely outplayed by Cardiff today and it was nothing short of a rout. It took us 27 minutes to string three passes together and I thought we were lucky to go into the break at 1-1.
“None of them coped well with their opposite man and when we are not strong and competing then you get a result like this. They know it wasn’t good enough and after a result like that there is no point going in there and really blasting them. They know themselves that none of them performed anyway near where they can.
“We have got to lift the players and give them the belief that we can go again. We have got to stick together and we need the supporters behind us. They have been very good and most of them appreciate how difficult it is in this league. We need them to stay with us.”