Grecians boss reacts to Hatters defeat
EXETER CITY manager Paul Tisdale revealed that he would love to keep striker Jayden Stockley at St James Park after the frontman scored on the final game of his loan spell today at Luton Town.The 4-1 defeat at Kenilworth Road was a disappointing end to what has been an up-and-down campaign for the Grecians, and Paul conceded that he was disappointed with his side's first-half defending.
"The scoreline suggested that the first half was tough, but it was a very open game," Paul said. "We made a couple of poor mistakes defensively, and 3-0 at half-time was a bit too much to live with. Was it a 3-0 first-half? From the way we defended, yes.
"As a game of football, it must have been quite entertaining, but not from an Exeter point of view. There were more than one or two players who I was looking to have a look at, so there was certainly something to take from the game. At 0-0 we had a couple of chances, but the first goal was a bit of a calamity; the free-kick conceded, the place it was taken from and Jordan Tillson's unfortunate header. It was a day that we wanted to look at different things, though I wanted to win the game - you could see that from the substitutions that I made."
AFC Bournemouth striker Stockley today made it ten goals since his January arrival, earning him the club's golden boot, and the City boss revealed that an offer has been made to the player.
"The most pressing issue now, of course, is to deal with our contracted players," Paul said. "I've got my work cut out now with making those decisions - nothing's straightforward and black-and-white, it's a matter of seeing what fits, and with each day we're making steps forward to making those decisions. I would hope that Jayden Stockley wants to stay - we've made him a couple of offers, the latest of which is a very good one. I'd have liked to have had his decision back by now, but I haven't - we'd love to keep him, and I like to think that we can make a difference to him. It's up to him now.
"That's ten seasons finished for me now, and progress has been made. I'm very proud of what we've done."