 He managed to get the reaction he was looking for as Crewe won four of their next five games in March to move towards mid-table safety, a team performance that helped earn Artell a nomination for EFL League Two Manager of the Month.The "Railwaymen" ended the 2016–17 campaign in 17th-place, and Artell released six players in the summer.He warned the remaining out-of-contract players to sign their new contracts quickly before he withdrew their offers, but said "we all had a say.