Bennett praises City's young starlets
A one-match suspension means that City midfielder won’t be featuring against Rochdale this weekend. But he kept his match-sharpness up by playing for Exeter’s reserves at St James’ Park in midweek, and gave a glowing assessment of some of his younger colleagues.
Having come through the youth ranks at the club himself, Scot had no hesitation in praising some of the other talents that are following in his footsteps and hoping to make the grade.
“It was nice to get out on the field and keep my fitness up and see the young lads we’ve got coming through,” said Bennett. “There’s a lot of talent coming up, so the club’s got a bright future.
“There are a lot of players that are building up and all coming up from the under-18s. They’re getting more experience, and really getting into it.
“Jamie Reid is someone that’s really impressed me. He’s hit the ground running straight away, and Jordan Moore-Taylor too, so they’re the two main ones. Then obviously there’s like the likes of Jacob Cane and Jake Wannell who are now getting to find their feet and getting in and around the first team.
“Reid’s loan to Dorchester has really helped him and he’s looking really sharp in training at the minute, so he’s just waiting for his chance. And when it comes, who knows – he might take it.”
A fifth caution of the season – picked up in the damp affair against Rotherham last time out – has earned Bennett a single-match ban. However the whole squad have had a lengthier break than normal too, following a blank Saturday last weekend – and the 22-year-old reflected on how the squad have dealt with a rare mid-season break.
“It is a bit strange; last week was a bit different for us. We were covering the things we’ve been doing in games before and making sure we’re still ready for the game on Saturday.
“[Paul Tisdale] worked us quite hard on Friday so that we could have the weekend off, so the older boys could spend time with their family and so a few could get back home. So he gave us a bit of time off at the weekend to recover, which was nice.”
Bennett also took the time to look ahead to the visit to Spotland this weekend. The Grecians have admittedly been inconsistent at home this term but have excelled on the road – and he is confident his teammates can continue their excellent away form in his absence.
“When you go away, you can always expect the same: they’re going to come at you for the first 20 minutes and you have to weather the storm and build your way into the game. We like to get an early start when we’re playing away and get on the ball early so we can settle in and make it feel like we’re playing at home.
“We started this season well but then had a bit of a sloppy patch. However we’ve come back and hit the ground running again so hopefully we can continue that on Saturday.”