Crewe manager Dario Gradi has pledged to "beef up" his squad for life in Coca-Cola League One after they ended their miserable Championship campaign with a 4-2 victory over fellow relegated side Millwall.

Little more than pride was at stake for the clubs as they were both consigned to the drop two weeks ago but they endeavoured to serve up a goal fest.

A rousing second-half flourish saw Alex romp to victory, with Nicky Maynard - scoring with his first touch in professional football - Luke Varney and Steve Jones grabbing goals after the interval.

Eddie Johnson had earlier cancelled out an opener by Millwall striker Ben May, who also netted in the second half to make it 2-2.

Despite the emphatic scoreline, Gradi admitted Alex would struggle in League One with their current side and has vowed to bolster his squad over the summer.

"By and large, this was a poor-quality game and I would have thought us and Millwall are going to have to do better than that if we are going to be in the top six of the league below," he said.

"We will need beefing up. I am obviously hoping some of these players will improve and do better than they did here. Some of our players weren't focused and were making some strange decisions.

"There's a lot of work to be done. Maybe just three players will make a difference but it's a question of where we can get them."

Crewe started off poorly but gradually improved and in the end were worthy winners.

The introduction at the start of the second half of youngsters Maynard and Michael O'Connor certainly made a difference up front but Gradi thought there was a distinct lack of class throughout.

"There were some good moments," he added. "It was a funny game to play in and get the right frame of mind.

"Nicky had a moment he will not forget in a hurry. In fact, they all had their moments without really playing particularly well. It still looked like a Crewe team trying to play football though."

Millwall caretaker manager Alan McLeary, in temporary charge following the recent departure of former boss David Tuttle, rued a lack of cutting edge by his side in the first half.

"We could have won the game early on," he said. "We went 1-0 up and had opportunities to make it two or three. If we'd have taken those, it could have been different.

"It was difficult in the second half to rally the troops but they kept on going and that's all I could ask for."

Regarding the appointment of a new manager at the Lions this summer, he added: "I'd like to think I will have a chance of being in charge but that's for them to decide and to sort out.

"But I think early organisation will be of benefit to the club. It was a little bit up in the air in terms of organisation at the start of this year."