Grecians boss looks ahead to Morecambe visit
EXETER CITY manager Paul Tisdale is expecting to hand certain players an extended summer by not selecting them in the final two games of the Sky Bet League 2 season.David Wheeler is one such player who has been carrying a knock in recent weeks, and the City boss said that he would take him out of the firing line as the Grecians prepare to close out their campaign against Morecambe and then Luton Town.
"We approach it in a professional manner," Paul said. "It's about winning games, and it's about doing ourselves justice. There's a flat feeling, having missed out after our good run. Up until last week, we were starting to believe that it was possible, so it was a shame. We can't just take a couple of games off and have a holiday; I've already started the process of looking at the players that I'm going to have next year. We're not playing against a team that's competing at the other end, so that's handy, but that doesn't mean that we're taking it lightly, either.
"It's about getting something out of the games that could give me a lead into next year. There'll be players leaving and arriving, and it's about being respectful to the players, too. If you've been ever-present all season, it wouldn't be fair to leave you out of these ones. You can't please everybody; I played Pat Baldwin in the final game last season, with him having spent most of the season injured, and that meant I couldn't give that spot to a young player. I think he really appreciated it, but I can't do that with everybody.
"We've got the choice to make on two or three players who've been playing with injuries, to finish their seasons now and let them have an extended rest ahead of next year. David Wheeler is one; he's been in and out of training, and I think that he'll be one that we won't see again this season. Ryan Harley has been nursing one or two things, but I've not yet made that decision. I haven't totally decided yet, but there's nobody coming back in who's been out injured."