Paul confirms no clubs have bid for City stars
Exeter manager Paul Tisdale is pleased that his team hasn’t been disrupted by bids from rival clubs for any of his star players.
With the January transfer window closing this evening, and the inevitable clock-watching by fans of every team across the country, a lack of activity has been welcomed by Tis. Myles Anderson and Mark Molesley have bolstered an already-strong squad this window, and thankfully there have been no departures from St James Park.
“Fortunately, we’ve had no offers for players,” said Tis. “I was hoping that we wouldn’t have a late offer and then a period of time when I wasn’t able to replace anybody, so I’m happy that never happened.
“But sadly there’s been no opportunity to bring anybody in anyway, so it’s not really been an issue to be honest. The last couple of days have ticked by and [the transfer deadline] hasn’t really affected us this year.”
And with Aldershot being visitors at the Park this weekend – who triumphed in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy fixture at Exeter, shortly after having lost a league tie to the Grecians at the Recreation Ground – Tis is hoping that City can build on strong performances in recent weeks to take all three points on Saturday. Having had a few days to reflect on a defeat to Torquay United on Monday, Tis hopes his troops can release from any anxiety to convert a display into a win at the Park.
“I thought we could have been a little more patient, and not quite so anxious with our passing [against Torquay],” he continued. “That’s not to say I wanted more passing – I just wanted it a little more composed and pragmatic, and I thought we rushed things and that there was an anxiety about the place. But that’s natural when you’re a goal down and desperate to win.
“I watched the game very closely afterwards from a number of different angles, and there wasn’t a great deal that I was upset about.”
Despite seeing the Shots languishing towards the wrong end of the table, Paul knows full well that there’s nothing to be taken for granted when they visit. They visited the Riverside last weekend, and Danny Hylton’s late strike looked to have earned them an FA Cup fourth round replay from Middlesbrough, until Lukas Jutkiewicz put the hosts through in the final throes of the game.
So Tis is expecting a similarly workmanlike performance when Aldershot arrive on Saturday afternoon, having put in a real shift against Boro.
“It can’t harm them. They’ve been very close to taking a Championship side to a replay and they’ve needed a lot of effort and teamwork, determination and organisation to achieve such a close game.
“If they’re able to do it against Middlesbrough, then I’m sure they’ll be able to put some kind of similar performance in against us.”