Crewe technical director Dario Gradi expects the impending arrival of striker Calvin Zola to spur Tom Pope on to fight for his starting berth.Zola is still waiting for a work permit before his move from Tranmere is completed and is being earmarked for a place alongside Nicky Maynard up front.

Pope scored seven goals for the Railwaymen last season and Gradi expects to see more from him during the forthcoming campaign.

"We are looking to give Nicky (Maynard) a partner to play off. We think Zola will do that and hopefully that will be resolved in the next couple of weeks," Gradi told the club's official website.

"Steve (Holland) gave Tom Pope a chance last season and he has shown that he has a knack of scoring goals. He scored a few but he needs to be doing better with his all round game if he is really going to break in and stay in.

"We certainly haven't given up on him, far from it, but he will know he has some work to do to convince us that he should be a regular in the side."

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