Tootle made his first-team breakthrough at Crewe in November

Crewe Alexandra defender Matt Tootle has said that his poor run of form has left him suffering with insomnia.

Full-back Tootle, 19, described his performance in the 2-2 draw against Barnet on Saturday as "awful".

He told BBC Radio Stoke: "I don't sleep if I don't play well. Every little thing that I've done, I'll see it my head when I close my eyes.

"It makes me cringe and my stomach starts to go. I've always been like that, ever since I was a kid."

The youngster continued: "I can think about it too much, but I'm not going to kill myself over it.

"It's never affected me too much, I'll sort it out, but when I'm playing bad I'm not a nice person to be around.

"It's important to me that I play at the best I can all the time, and if I don't, I'll tell myself."

Tootle has started 16 games since making his first-team debut away at Northampton in November, scoring one goal.

Manager Dario Gradi rewarded Tootle with a new two-and-a-half year contract in December.

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