Exeter City director of football Steve Perryman says they will be searching for a few surprises to spring on Morecambe on Saturday after their boss made the 580-mile trip to watch their game on Tuesday night.
The Grecians drew 0-0 with Yeovil Town on March 13 to move within five points off the automatic promotion places with games in hand on the teams above them.
However, next up, is a match against Morecambe and Shrimps boss Jim Bentley was at St James Park to watch their stalemate with the Glovers which didn’t go unnoticed by Steve.
“Their manager Jim Bentley is very believable and credible as a manager,” said Steve. “He was here watching us play, with his assistant, against Yeovil Town in the week. What a journey that is – we all know those distances don’t we?
“However, he is doing his job to check us out and make sure there are no surprises from us. It is our job to provide a few surprises that maybe he didn’t quite see on Tuesday night.
“I always think we are a different away team, performance-wise, than at home but it will be a very competitive game against two teams that will be vying for the points and looking to beat each other.”
Morecambe currently sit 22nd in the table, six points outside the relegation zone. It is a position in the standings that comes as a surprise to Steve.
“They are very competitive outfit, Morecambe,” he said. “I am personally surprised by the fact that league position suggests that they are struggling. Their current form is not bad though. If you go and win at Wycombe, you must be a good team. (Kevin) Ellison is a good pro. He scored special goals and we saw one this morning, looking back through their goals.”
After City face Morecambe, they go to Port Vale – who are also struggling – before facing two promotion rivals in Swindon Town and Lincoln City. So has there been a points total set for the team to acquire over the next four matches?
“No, it is all about the next game,” said Steve. “It is getting to the serious or business end of the season. Everything that has gone on before – injuries, losses, last minute winners at Crewe for instance – you put that into the mix and it all counts for nothing other than where it has put us at this time with a couple of games in hand. There is a still a lot to play for.
“We saw that the other night with Yeovil. That was a team that has been struggling with two or three defeats and they wanted to defend their goal and they did.
“I think their manager would have been particularly delighted with a hard-fought draw against a good team, having followed their earlier win against us. I particularly like the Yeovil manager. I thought he put out a really competitive team and yet I have to say we were unlucky not to get the three points on that particular night, so we are going to have to make up for it at Morecambe.”