Teenager Clayton, who was a target for Liverpool when still in Crewe's youth ranks, struck in the 75th minute to settle a hard-fought tie and secure Alex a place in Saturday's area quarter-final draw.
Gradi told the PA: "Max Clayton will do better than that and he will probably be disappointed with his performance. He sets his expectations higher than that but he got a great goal with a header and proved he is a great finisher. He took his goal very well. He hasn't played a lot at this level and probably needs to convince himself he can do that. But he has got a first goal out of the way and even if he had wasted every pass and missed good chances I would be happy because he has got his goal."
Barker and Phillips be aware.
As for Blues boss Paul Sturrock and the former Wimbledon boss, they are the best of mates it seems!
Gradi told www.crewealex.net: "I get on well with Paul and we always have a good chat before and after the game. He is a really good guy and I have got great respect for him but I don't think even he would have expected to be doing so well now."
Maybe he did, but what does he really think of the Shrimpers?
Gradi continued: "I don't really know too much about his team at the moment, but they are doing well after a difficult time. We went there last season and we beat them and he said afterwards that we had better technical players than he had, but he must have found a winning formula now. They are the league leaders, and it will be a hard game."
Nice one Dario, getting that 3-2 result in, surprised you didn't mention it was a double for your lads with a 1-0 result at Gresty Road last March in an awful game.
However, football moves on, and Luggy has indeed found a side who knows how to win; six on the trot, we shall see.
The Gradi Files
Personal information Full name Dario Gradi MBE Date of birth 8 July 1941 (1941-07-08) (age 70) Place of birth Milan, Italy Height 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in) Playing position Defender Club information Current club Crewe Alexandra(director of football & caretaker manager) Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1969–1970 Sutton United 1971 Tooting & Mitcham United Teams managed 1978–1981 Wimbledon 1981 Crystal Palace 1983–2007 Crewe Alexandra 2008 Crewe Alexandra (caretaker) 2009– Crewe Alexandra * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.† Appearances (Goals).(Manager info supplied by Wikipedia, for the full article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dario_Gradi)
Source: FOOTYMAD