Grecians boss looks ahead to Carlisle clash
EXETER CITY manager Paul Tisdale will be without Alex Nicholls for this weekend's visit of Carlisle United.The Cumbrians visit St James Park for a 3pm kick-off on Saturday, and you can get your tickets here.
First, Paul was asked for his thoughts on the club's most recent set of accounts, published last week.
"It's very positive," he said. "Of course it's not a surprise to me, as I'm privy to the information, but that's one of the most important parts of my role, sticking to the business plan. We're a cash-flow business, and it's important that we stay within our means and look to create cash windfalls. We've done that over the last twelve months, and on those terms you can consider it to have been the most successful year that we've had for a long time.
"It's very much part of my job - number one on the list is to make sure the club stays healthy, number two is to keep the players healthy and number three is to win on a Saturday. It's a really healthy, positive position that we find ourselves in, and we've earned it. The sales of Matt Grimes and Tom Nichols have helped, but the FA Cup success has been a positive performance-wise as well. We now have a really good foundation to develop facilities at the training ground, to develop the stadium and to move forward. It's a really good position that the club finds itself in.
"Of course, the Saturdays are always important, because there is nothing like winning on a Saturday to keep up the spirits of the club, but when things are all in good shape, you can plan ahead. You can plan more than just a fortnight ahead, and that aids the performance on the pitch over time."
"The squad is looking pretty good fitness-wise going into this weekend. We've had some ups and downs, and one or two are nursing a bruise or two, but generally we're in good shape. Alex Nicholls is the only one who's not available - he's had an operation today, and will be out for two, three, four weeks - we don't know yet. Fingers-crossed that the operation goes well, but to all intents and purposes, the plan is to have him back before the end of the season. Other than that, everything's looking good. Will Hoskins has been training, but there's a difference between being fit to train, and being injury-free, and being match fit. That being said, he is available.
"Carlisle are a competent team. They are slightly above us in the league, and played particularly well when we lost up there in October. They are well-organised, strong and have good disciplines. They certainly deserved to score against Dagenham in midweek, going by the stats, and like us, they are still going for the play-offs. Keith Curle has built a very effective team over the last twelve months, and they have players who can score goals. Most games in League 2 will pose a challenge, and this one definitely will this week."