by Gwyn Griffiths

MATT Tootle's friends and family will cast a sigh of collective relief if the teenage defender can celebrate a Crewe victory over Grimsby tonight (7.45pm).

Perfectionist Tootle admits he has been so distraught by his recent displays that he has become miserable company after matches.

His side's play-off ambitions are hanging by a thread after a defeat and two draws in their last three outings.

Those hopes would effectively be ended if they lost to Grimsby, whose 3-0 victory over promotion-chasing Shrewsbury on Saturday was their first in 26 outings.

"I'm not pleased with how I'm playing," said the left-back. "I thought I was awful against Barnet on Saturday.

"I'm very critical of myself and I'm not a nice person to be around when I don't play well.

"Since I was a kid I've never slept well after playing badly. I analyse every little thing and watch the match DVD on my own to learn from my mistakes – I'm a bit of a nightmare.

"We were poor against Barnet and, with all due respect to them, we should be winning those games."

The 2-2 draw proved to be a slight improvement on eight other displays at Gresty Road which have ended in defeat – a dismal record which suggests Crewe are destined for a bottom-half finish.

A cleverly-executed free-kick from Clayton Donaldson at least ensured they weren't beaten for a ninth time.

"The home form has been a problem," admitted Tootle.

"Even when I was attending games as a scholar we seemed to be poor and you can't get anywhere without winning your home games. We need to do a lot better if we are going to be looking to go up next season."

Tootle may be self-critical, but Dario Gradi has still stuck with him rather than turn to the experienced Billy Jones.

The homegrown youngster suffered the anguish of scoring an own goal against Rochdale, but was only rested after picking up an injury.

"It gave me a lot of confidence that I got back into the team straight away," added Tootle.

"Rochdale wasn't a good day for me, but I was pleased I didn't lose my head after the own goal. It's important for me to play as best I can."

A critical home faithful are unlikely to settle for second best from the rest of his team-mates, despite Grimsby's improvement.

Some brisk January transfer window business by manager Neil Woods has seen experienced striker Lee Peacock and former Leicester forward Tommy Wright arrive at Blundell Park, along with a clutch of loan signings, including Charlton midfielder Dean Sinclair and Hull winger Jamie Devitt.

They have helped to instigate a noticeable upturn in fortunes, which has left them four points from safety.

But having been beaten just twice in their last eight games, they could offer Crewe a tougher examination than Barnet.

Tootle warned: "Grimsby are fighting for their lives, so we should expect they will be nothing like the team we beat at their place.

"They started the season really badly and that was quite an easy game for us, but they are going to come here flying.

"But we need to start pushing on with next season in mind, just as much as finishing this one off on a high.

"We've got to expect to beat them, but it is still going to be a tough game because they must have played well to beat Shrewsbury."