 Hoping to improve on a 12th-place finish, Artell released four players in the summer, whilst centre-back George Ray rejected the club's contract offer.After starting the 2019–20 season with four wins in six games, Artell was again nominated for the EFL League Two Manager of the Month award.Crewe were top of the table on 15 March when the EFL was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, though Artell claimed that he was "100% confident" that the season would not be scrapped, stating that "The integrity of each competition is important and we have to play the games that are left, whenever that is".