💬 Matt Taylor: “We can still be better”

Exeter City manager Matt Taylor says he is still looking for improvements in his side despite taking a 2-0 win away from the Abbey Stadium against Cambridge United.

The Grecians sealed the points after goals from Jonathan Forte and Jayden Stockley put the match out of sight for the hosts.

And with City now sat on 10 points from their opening four matches of the Sky Bet League Two season, Matt says he still wants more from his players.

He said: “We can still be better, I’m still going to ask for more from the group. We had five minutes where I’ve said: ‘If we want to get to where we want to go to, then we’ve got to be better.’ I never ask them to do anything they aren’t capable of so there is more to come from this group.

“I’m always going to demand more from the group, and they know that as well, and I want them to start doing it from each other and then I’ll know I’ve got a successful team. We can’t settle on our laurels in terms of that 2-0 victory, but to come to a place like Cambridge and take away three points then you’re always going to be pleased. We’re a young team, four games in, and we are still going to get better.”

Matt also praised the resilience from City as they defended their two-goal lead bravely against a Cambridge side who applied significant pressure in the second-half.

He continued: “The resilience we showed. Morecambe and Newport put us under a lot of pressure, as well as Carlisle. We had to defend our box but it’s the same sort of story where Christy Pym didn’t have too many clear-cut shots to save.

“Full credit to the whole group, they really dug in during the second half. Cambridge are a good team, especially at home. We looked bright and sharp in our attack in the first half, and we didn’t quite keep the ball well enough in the second half which invited more pressure onto us. I can’t have too many complaints with a 2-0 victory.”

The City boss was also delighted with Dean Moxey as the defender played in central defence alongside Aaron Martin at the heart of the City backline.

“Dean Moxey is a class act” said Matt. “He knows his game inside out, but they (Dean and Aaron) didn’t have it easy tonight by any means. It was a hard-working performance and they got their rewards off the back of that. I asked Deano to do a job because of Troy Brown’s injury, which we will have to assess and see how he is in the next few days. Craig Woodman came in and was excellent and Lee Martin came in which freshened the group up.

“To come away from home and keep them at arm’s length for the majority of the game I was very pleased. We’ve hit the bar and hit the post, so it could have been more comfortable, we’re nervous on the bench at 2-0 and we had opportunities to stay in their final third, but we didn’t quite do that in the second half.”