IF THERE were to be an award for the most secure manager of the year, Crewe boss Dario Gradi would be home and hosed.

In his 19th season in charge at Gresty Road, Gradi IS Crewe Alexandra.

He is not just the manager, he is a director of the club and, unlike 90 per cent of men in the precarious profession of football management, he knows he is as close as it gets to unsackable.

As Burnley boss Stan Ternent admitted: "Dario is Mr Crewe, he has built that club. He has produced some very good players and Crewe are now an established first division club."

For nearly two decades Gradi has been bringing young players into the club and then selling them on at huge profits, helping him transform the club from traditional whipping boys at the foot of the bottom division to a side now in its fourth season in Division One.

David Platt, Neil Lennon, Robbie Savage, Geoff Thomas, Rob Jones, Ashley Westwood, Gareth Whalley, Dele Adebola, Danny Murphy, Seth Johnson and most recently Mark Rivers have all been sold to provide the resources to help the club take on the bigger boys.

With average gates of around 6,500 it has been a great achievement and Saturday's defeat of Gianluca Vialli's Watford proved Gradi has no intention of seeing his club relegated this season.

Alex finished 14th last season, thanks in the main to their home form, and the early weeks of the season suggest that they might have to rely on home points again this time around.

Crewe haven't won away since January and they have lost all three away games this season, at Grimsby, Manchester City and Barnsley.

The key departure in the summer was Rivers, sold to Norwich City for £500,000, but Gradi has invested the same amount in Dave Brammar from Port Vale.

Wayne Collins, sold by Gradi to Sheffield Wednesday for £600,000 five years ago, returned to Gresty Road in the summer from Fulham.

Throughout his time at the club Gradi has not ben prone to make dramatic changes but when his side lost 5-0 at home to Wimbledon he decided enough was enough.

The result was five changes to the staring line-up and the victory over Watford. Neil Sorvel and Phil Charnock were recalled in midfield, fit again Rodney Jack returned from a groin injury while Graham Barratt, striker on loan from Arsenal, dropped to bench.

The big surprise was the dropping of skipper Steve Macauley dropped with Effy Sodje impressing in hs place in the heart of the defence.

Rob Hulse got the winner, his third of the season, and Gradi is expected to name an unchanged line-up.