John has worked on the pitch at the Alexandra Stadium as well as those as the club's Reaseheath training ground, and Alex Soccer Centre before that, for over 30 years. He was voted as Second Division groundsman-of-the-year in 1997 and plied his trade at Stoke City before moving to Crewe in the 1980s.

Steve Davies told the Stoke Sentinel, "John seems to have been around forever, he's been a great servant and has always been a big part of the club.

"He's done a brilliant job over the years and hopefully he can enjoy a bit of time to himself, his retirement, and we wish him well.

"He's given his life almost to this club, right from the very start when he was at the soccer centre to what we've got now.

"There's been many changes to the pitch over the years, it hasn't gone unnoticed.

"People like that are hard to come by these days, loyal and hardworking, so we wish him well, he'll be missed around the place."

Crewe are currently recruiting for an additional member of ground staff to work with their team at both the Alexandra Stadium and the club's training complex at Reaseheath.