STEVE Davis has backed Crewe’s firepower to come good ahead of Saturday’s tough trip to MK Dons.

Despite four successive draws and a glut of missed opportunities, the Alex boss believes his current strikeforce can deliver the goals.

Davis spurned the opportunity to bring in an experienced Championship striker on loan this week with Mathias Pogba set for the bench at the Bowl.

The towering striker is back after missing Crewe’s last six games with a knee injury while Byron Moore also returns from compassionate leave.

“We’ve been struggling with injuries and Chuks (Aneke) suspended,” admitted Davis.

“It’s left us a little threadbare but we’ve got a few back and it gives us options.

“Pogs has been flying around and looks back to his old self but it’s a bit too much to ask for him to come back straight into the team.

“I think he’ll be a good option off the bench with that physical presence and ability to get a goal.

“He was our top scorer before he got injured so hopefully he’ll start where he left off.”

Davis however will move for a midfielder if Abdul Osman fails to recover from the ankle injury sustained in last Saturday’s 1-1 home draw with Leyton Orient.

“We’ll have to see if he is fit and if not, we may have to look at doing something,” added Davis.

“I don’t need to make any rash decisions.

“We’ve been offered a couple of players, one of which was a centre forward of great interest, but I couldn’t guarantee him the games.”

The boss does hope to retain 19-year-old Arsenal star Aneke with his three-match ban over after Saturday.

“He’s enjoying his stay here and we’ll see if we can keep it going for another month,” continued Davis.

“What I saw at Stevenage suggests he is going to be a good addition and he’ll only get better as long as he stays on the pitch.”

Having faced League One’s current top three, Crewe make it four against the MK Dons.

“They finished high last season and have been pushing for promotion,” said Davis “They’ve got some good players and play some great football.

“We think this will be one of our toughest games but it’s exciting and this is the kind of challenge we want.

“We didn’t lose any confidence after the Brentford (5-1) game and bounced back well which is a good sign of a strong squad.”