City manager previews Fleetwood match at SJP
Following a midweek tranche of results that threw up a mixed bag of permutations for Exeter City, manager Paul Tisdale insists that the Grecians’ is purely on their own results first.
12 teams were in action across Tuesday and Wednesday, including a number of clubs within a few points of the relegation places, and there were a number of notable results, including basement club Torquay United beating Bury 2-1, and Accrington Stanley jumping from 22nd to 15th in the table with a 5-1 demolition at home against Morecambe.
But the City boss feels that the Grecians aren’t distracted by the goings-on around the division, and will continue to aim for the highest points return attainable in the final six weeks of the season.
“With so many teams involved in this scrap, you have to accept that there’ll be plenty of games that go for you and plenty that go against you,” said Tis. “It’s a cliché, but we have to concentrate on our own games and picking up a certain amount of points to secure our safety.
“We have to keep our nerve, regardless of whether another team gets a couple of wins, and we have to look to win the appropriate amount of games.
“We showed a lot of fight [against Newport] and we were very purposeful – but we have been in a lot of our away games. If I look back at our last half a dozen away games against teams like Burton, Southend and York, we’re shown a lot of purpose and fight. The issue has been our home results, and that’s the fact.”
Indeed the next team that stand between Exeter City and three points towards their total is Fleetwood Town, who are chasing promotion to Sky Bet League 1 and boast nine victories on the road so far this season, more than any other team in the division.
City and Fleetwood played out a particularly intriguing game at Highbury earlier this season – Exeter winning 2-1 in a game that was goalless at the 70-minute mark – and the Grecians boss is anticipating another entertaining game against a team that are unlikely to stay in their shell.
“I’ve had plenty of reports on Fleetwood, and they are one of the better teams in the league, and they have the capability to play more football than most teams,” Paul continued. “On their day they are as strong as anybody, and they have a manager that understands the subtlety and nuance in terms of shape and pattern of play.
“I think it’ll be a very good game – they’ve got a very good away record and we’ve got a poor home record, but I don’t think we have to worry too much about the form book. I have to believe we are capable of a result.
“At the stage of the season we’re in, it’s a time for being flexible, adaptable and competitive in all areas. We have to have the ability to compete, be close to the game and be in the game at all times.”