Ada was signed by former Crewe boss Gudjon Thordarson from Histon

Crewe Alexandra defender Patrick Ada is hopeful that his performance against Aldershot has put him back in manager Dario Gradi's first-team plans.

Ada came on as an early substitute for Mat Mitchel-King and helped the Alex to a 1-1 draw at the Recreation Ground.

"My last game was against York at the beginning of November, but I've been patient and waited for my chance," the 25-year-old told BBC Radio Stoke.

"I hope I did enough for the manager to give me a chance in the next game."

Ada was a regular in the first team under former boss Gudjon Thordarson, but has struggled to feature since his dismissal in October and Gradi's reinstatement as manager.

He was made available for loan by Gradi in December, but said a move back to non-league football, even on a temporary basis, did not appeal to him.

"Football is a game of opinions," said Ada. "It was really frustrating for me because I wasn't playing, but I didn't want to go on loan.

"In my opinion, I'm done with the non-league. I want a good crack in the league and I just felt that going back to non-league wouldn't be a challenge for me.

"I want to stay here and fight for my place, and hopefully I've shown the manager and the fans what I can do."

Gradi says that Ada may keep his place for the visit of Accrington on Saturday.

"The thing with Patrick is that he's not a shrinking violet," he said. "He wasn't going to be overawed.

"He made a couple of mistakes towards the end, but he's probably earned himself another go."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version