Manager Neil Harris has welcomed the friendly rivalry developing between his strikers.

Mikael Mandron responded to Lewis Walker’s midweek double in the EFL Trophy by scoring the opener against Crewe in League 2 on Saturday.

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Competition is something Harris has been craving for this season but injuries in a small squad, coupled with a slow start to life back in the basement division, has often left little room for debate.

Both Mandron and Walker will have wanted more goals by now - they've got five between them - but the team has only just started to find the net this season. Harris will be hoping the goals are going to come around more frequently from now on.

“That (competition) has to be the aim,” said the manager. “You want them to get to double figures as quickly as possible. That seems a long way off at the moment, it has to be one step at a time, but you want them to play well and I want to be debating who I want to play.

"I want to be thinking, ‘who is in form and who is scoring goals?’ Rather than thinking ‘who is the best without the ball while we are finding ways of scoring a goal?

“Where we are now progressing a bit, we are looking a bit of a threat, we are getting players into the right positions.

“I am learning about the strength of the players and what makes them tick and what they need to do in training to make them better on a matchday. They can’t work any harder with me, to want to be goalscorers and getting into the right positions.

“Sometimes I have to stay on the sidelines and shout a little more vocally than other times because they switch off and it is just getting them up to speed on what we need as a team.”

Fellow forward Scott Kashket, meanwhile, has continued to impress, his energy proving to be a real asset to whoever he plays alongside. He was unwell on Saturday and was a late pick to play for Harris. He also took a nasty whack late in the game.

Harris said: “I didn’t name my team until late on lunchtime on (Saturday), I normally name it on a Friday, it was late because I didn’t know how Kash was going to be and it shows his energy that he managed to get through the 90 minutes. He got a bang at the end but Kash gets a kick every game doesn’t he?”

The manager added: "Kash has arguably played the best of the three (forwards)."

Another player lasting the 90 minutes on Saturday was midfielder Shaun Williams. He was another late selection for the XI after playing with a strapped up left ankle, which he had sprained on the Tuesday night.

“He put in a strong performance,” said the manager. “He didn’t train (with the other players at the end of the week). He is not the sort of player that needs to train, that is what experience brings you, he knows his body, he knows the game.

“He travelled, he wanted to play and said he was fine. I trust my senior players, if they say they are fit, they are fit.

“I thought he was very good, a calming influence. What Shaun does is he makes other people right, if people step out of position he covers the shape and his use of the ball is very good, really composed. It was probably a lesson to everyone that you can keep things simple sometimes, and still play very well.”