KEITH Curle is ready for Latics’ pre-season to take its next step against Crewe tonight.

League One Alex are the visitors to Boundary Park with Curle seeing the game as a real barometer of how his side are progressing with the countdown on to the opening day meeting with Newport County on August 7.

Dave Artell’s men finished 12th in the third tier last season and as a club, are known for their footballing philosophy. It all adds up to a perfect bit of preparation for Curle.

“Crewe are a very good footballing team,” the Latics boss said.

“I know the manager and signed him a couple of times. He’s got good principles, a good understanding of the game and he’s got a squad that is capable of holding their own in League One.

“It’s another good test for us on Tuesday, but that’s how pre-season was designed. We wanted that test.

“We’ve got a testing week now, and all the focus is on preparing for matchday and delivering on a matchday.

“When the season starts everything within our week is geared for that upward curve towards a game, and then it’s down to accountability.

“The players know that everything the staff at the football club are doing is to give them the opportunity to go out and perform. That’s the accountability, when they go over the line it’s down to them.”

Players will step up their build-up by getting more minutes in the tank after the 2-0 defeat against Premier League Burnley on Saturday. Latics impressed for large parts of the game before the top-flight visitors took over and sealed victory.

“In the first half against Burnley I thought we were very competitive,” said Curle, with a training game also being lined up later this week.

“We could have kept the same team (that started) longer but it’s a squad and I’m building a team shape in my head out of a squad of players and it’s important all the players can go out and test themselves against Premier League opposition, a Premier League football club.

“Now, the next two games will probably mean more 60-minute game-time for players, some players may play a full 90 minutes.”

The display against the Clarets should be a real tonic for Latics as they look to be competing at the right end of League Two from the off.

“We showed positives but I think the pleasing thing is that things that we’ve worked on, the players saw first-hand that a Premier League team, when they needed to, couldn’t break us down, couldn’t get through us, couldn’t get behind us,” Curle said.

“That means the players get a better understanding of it again. But the work doesn’t stop. There will be a video analysis of it. We show them individual clips and we expect feedback from them.”