We caught up with the City keeper
You’ve been here for a couple of months now settling in. How have you found life here at Exeter City?
“It’s great, of all the clubs I’ve been at I have never been made to feel more welcome than here. Around the place generally there are people who want to help you settle in, obviously I’ve been dealing with Mel [Gwinnett] the most and he has been great.
Overall I can’t fault anybody, which makes a massive difference, I’ve had bad experiences before whilst settling in at new clubs so to see people here going the extra mile to help you has definitely made a difference for me on a personal level.
You’re one of many experienced players the club has brought in over the summer, with people like Matt Oakley and Jamie Cureton as well, surely that can only be a benefit?
Curo and Matt are quite a bit older than me! I think anyone looking from a distance can see what the manager is trying to do, he’s obviously trying to get a blend of youth and experience, and if that comes off it will be a masterstroke on his part.
The medical practices they adopt here are impressive as well, with players such as myself who have had problems in the past as well as the players who are, shall we say, advanced in their careers, and if everyone can stay fit I think it will be a successful season for everyone.
After your injury last season, are you feeling fit and ready to go this time around?
Yes, although I think it is a work in progress as the medical brought up things I didn’t know about and was a real eye-opener for me. That meant that the fitness plan I was working from was folded into a paper aeroplane and literally chucked out the window!
It’s a whole new approach for me in terms of the things that I do away from the training pitch as well as on the training pitch. At the moment I feel sharp and fresh, and hopefully that will pay off and I can get back to my best or maybe perform even better than I have in the past, that’s my aim.
You are working with young goalkeeper Christy Pym in training, and you have a lot of experience of playing league football which you can pass on to him?
With Christy I think it is my duty as an older pro to help him, it was done to me when I was younger and I always remember that. It is a big help for a young goalkeeper if there is someone experienced to help them out, and it was certainly a big thing for me.
And finally what were your first impressions of the manager?
He’s certainly very thorough, in a way that I’ve never experienced before. The depth of thinking which goes into his methods and then how he puts that across to the players is second to none in terms of what I have experienced. I’ve played under some managers with big reputations but they certainly don’t go into the depth that Tis does. It’s been very interesting to see how he works, obviously as you get older you look at things differently and his methods are certainly interesting to observe, and it has been a learning curve for me since I’ve been here.”
This interview appeared first in The Grecian matchday programme along with four other in-depth chats with the City squad.