City manager gives reaction to Daggers defeat
Following Exeter’s home defeat to Dagenham & Redbridge, manager Paul Tisdale lamented what has been a frustrating week for the Grecians.
A third consecutive defeat has left City trying to secure a play-off place in the final four fixtures. The Daggers took an early lead through a Scott Doe header and the Grecians were never able to carve out the opportunities to overturn the scoreline, and Paul drew attention to the lack of cohesion on the field which was going to make getting a result difficult.
“It’s been a really bad week,” conceded Tis. “I’ve just stood in the dressing room and listened to the players – it’s the first time I’ve really heard them say too much, and I’m very pleased with what they’ve said. It wasn’t heated – it was frustrated.
“I’m quite philosophical about it. I was very disappointed on Monday because in the run-in at this stage of the season when you’re fighting for points and you’ve got a lead with five minutes to go – that was the killer for us really in terms of how we felt.
“Today we conceded an early goal, and I would have liked to think we would have gotten a goal back. It was a hard ask and the players put a huge amount of effort in; but it was very disjointed, and the decision-making was impaired by anxiety, frustration, panic, a bit of this and a bit of that.
“I’m desperate to get in the play-offs; we’re finding it very hard at the moment. It’ll go to the last game, I’m sure – and we have to attack Tuesday the best way we can.”
Any game-plan took an instant hitch when Kevin Amankwaah, less than a minute after kick-off, went down with an ankle injury. He had to be replaced by Aaron Dawson at the right-back berth, as Steve Tully was also unavailable through injury.
Amankwaah joins the ever-lengthening list of City casualties which have decimated plenty of quality and depth from the squad, but Tis is keen to trust the players he does have at his disposal to complete the jon.
“Kevin’s going to have an x-ray on his ankle,” said Tis. “It was within the first 30 seconds, and Steve Tully has a broken toe – I have to say, Aaron Dawson did very well coming on and tried very hard, but it’s not the ideal start.
“There’s no point worrying too much about it – the players that are fit and available have to be primed the best they can for the next game. We’re not at our best, but things can change very quickly. We’ve got to get over the line and scrap and find a way.”
Now Tis is calling on the team to improve as a collective when they travel to fellow promotion-hopefuls Rotherham on Tuesday for an important six-pointer under the floodlights at the New York Stadium,
“Today we tried very hard and it just wasn’t going to be. We just didn’t make collective decisions that had any togetherness about it – it was just disjointed.
“That’s the type of game you’ll see at this time of the season – there’s a driving wind, pitches are bumpy and firm; it’s a time for making good decisions at the same time.
“Now it’s onto the next – it’s the only thing we can do.”