Welshman looks ahead to fixture announcement
Exeter City man Arron Davies admitted that he and the rest of the squad are keenly counting down the days towards the announcement of the Sky Bet League 2 fixtures, which are revealed at 9am this Wednesday.It’ll be like unwrapping 46 presents at once when the schedule is finally published, and it’ll give supporters their first chance to make provisional plans for the season ahead.
The league programme comes a day after the announcement of the Capital One Cup first round draw, which is due to be made at 10am on Tuesday.
And Arron, who is entering his fourth season as a Grecian, will be anticipating the breaking news just as acutely as any fan.
“I was at the Cat & Fiddle for a session earlier today, and all of the lads are looking forward to the fixtures coming out – it’s like looking forward to Christmas Day!” he said.
“I’m sure I’ll be up nice and early on Wednesday and looking forward to seeing who we’ll be playing and when. It doesn’t get any different, no matter how many times you do it – even the most senior lads at the club will really be looking forward to getting the fixtures.
“It brings the reality that the season is starting again – I’ve got friends at other clubs in League 2 and that’s when the banter starts!
“I’m sure the fans are looking forward to it more than anyone so they can start making plans – it’s something to look forward to for everyone.
“I’ve been lost on Saturdays over the summer – normally in the season I’d be watching for the results and catching up with the highlights and reading the reports. So I didn’t know what to do with my weekends – my missus has had me doing a bit of the housework!
“It has been nice to have a bit of free time and see family, and I’ve been lucky enough to have a nice family. But now my mind is on getting as fit as I can before we come back for pre-season, looking forward to welcoming in the new lads, and getting ready to kick on next year.”
Eyes are automatically drawn towards the marquee games – namely the opening weekend, the Devon Derby, and the Christmas and Easter periods.
But it’ll be a different Westcountry derby fixture that Arron is looking forward to the most, as he has a chance to visit his former stomping ground.
“I’ll be looking forward to seeing when we play Plymouth and Bristol Rovers – everyone looks forward to those games,” Davies continued.
“But for me I’ll be looking forward to playing Yeovil – I had a really successful time there over a couple of years and I loved it. It is similar to Exeter, in that they made me feel really at home and I was really lucky to be a part of it there. Some clubs make you feel like you’re bit-part, but at Yeovil I felt like a massive part of the club, as I do here at Exeter.
“It would have been nicer if it was a League 1 fixture – it’s been a tough time for them with back-to-back relegations and changes of managers, but I’m sure it’ll be quite different for them next season and they’ll be looking to kick on.
“They have got a good fanbase and I’m sure they’ll be fine next year; but as long as we beat them in the two games, I’m not too fussed!”
The squad is beginning to take shape for the new season too. Manny Oyeleke and Bobby Olejnik have arrived as new signings, whilst Lee Holmes penned a deal to turn his loan into a permanent move earlier in the summer and Christian Ribeiro confirmed he would stay put on Sunday.
And while he isn’t expecting any teams to give City an easy time, Davies is hopeful confident that they can set the tone for the campaign with a quick start.
He explained: “I think the league will be tough, as it always is – but I think we have kept a good nucleus from last year, and the fact that we’ve re-signed Lee Holmes and Christian Ribeiro is massive for us.
“And I’m sure the new lads that come in will prove to be good signings – it’s exciting times for us. Fingers crossed we’ll have a bit of luck with things like injuries, which you need across a season, and we’ll be there or thereabouts.
“We’re not going to get carried away just yet – first we’ll look to have a good pre-season so that we can start the season strongly in August.
“Football always comes down to the small details at both ends of the pitch, but we’ll be working hard when we get back to training and I’m sure we’ll be in a much healthier position than we were 12 months ago.”
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