Tis: We need to hold our nerve and relax
Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale admitted his side did not play well enough as they lost at home to Accrington Stanley.
It was the Grecians first defeat at home since November. A first-half free-kick from Seamus McCartan gave Stanley the lead and they made it 2-0 midway through the second half when Matty Pearson headed home from a corner.
City had plenty of chances to get back into the match, with Watkins, Grant and Wheeler all going close in the second half. However, Tis felt his players needed to relax a bit more on the ball.
“We looked stressed and we wanted to do too well,” he said. “We wanted to try so hard and pushed things and we have got to relax.
“We have won nothing and we are not holding any position at the moment that means we should panic.
“There are 10 games to go and we have got to go and achieve at least a play-off spot – that is our baseline – and we will do it by holding our nerve, playing together, trusting in each other and playing to our best. We didn’t do that today.”
Tis made three changes to the side as Luke Croll, Pierce Sweeney and Joel Grant came into the team at the expense of Troy Brown, Ryan Harley and Jack Stacey.
When asked about what was his thinking behind the changes, Tis said that the whole squad would be needed to in the final weeks of the season and he had trust in the players chosen.
“If we are going to do well this year it is going to be as a squad of players,” he said. “It is not going to be just 10 players on the field. It will be a squad of players and whatever we need to do, we need to do it better. It is not about today. We have now conceded 13 goals in the last six games and, five of those games have been with the same back four.
“So, it is not about that back four or the players who started today. It is about the squad collectively. We need to hold our nerve and we need to find a way of getting some form back, because today wasn’t quite good enough.
“I’m not going to hold an inquest about selection here with you or talk about individual players,” added Tis. “What I will say is the players are all committed to each other and I am committed to them and we will find a way of making sure days like today don’t happen too often and we play our football.
“We didn’t look ourselves today, but I am not going to panic about it. There are 10 games to go and we are in a good position. Would I have taken this position a few months ago? Of course, I would. So let’s start with that. Let’s look upwards and look to see if we can achieve a play-off position at least.”