Exeter City manager Matt Taylor says he is pleased with the performance levels and competition for places within his squad but is demanding more from the group as they go in search of their first win in three games at Crewe Alexandra on Saturday.
The Grecians, who beat promotion-chasing MK Dons at the start of the month, have dropped five points in the past two matches with a 1-1 draw away at in-form Carlisle United followed by a narrow defeat at home to Bury.
In both matches, City performed well and can count themselves unfortunate not to come away with maximum points, but Matt says they have got to start turning those displays into wins.
“We have got to turn performances into results,” he said. “It is the results end of the season and all the points to play for are so important at this time.”
Crewe Alexandra go into the game top of the Sky Bet League Two form guide, and Matt is expecting a tough test from a side that has won seven out of the last eight at home.
“They have a hit a really good run of results recently and they are a very good team at home,” he said. “Their performances and results show what a good team that they are on their home patch, but we are not playing badly ourselves.
“We were, obviously disappointed not to get any points off the back of the Bury performance, but the performance levels have been where we need them to be. We have got to turn that into points now and hopefully we can do that this weekend at Crewe.”
City have some positive news on the injury front as Hiram Boateng has returned to training. The midfielder who has been missing for a large part of the season with a hip-flexor injury, will not be in contention for Saturday though. Lee Martin, who missed last Saturday’s game with Bury, is also out with a calf problem, while Jonathan Forte is a doubt.
“Jono has had an injection in his knee,” said Matt. “He has done a bit of training today so we will see how he reacts to that training.
“Hopefully, it has taken a bit of swelling and a bit of pain out of that knee joint. We will see how he is tomorrow and he will travel with us to be available for us this weekend, but we don’t know quite know yet. Lee Martin is going to be unavailable.
“His calf injury has flared up so it is a disappointment for Lee but, hopefully, it is not too serious. He has tried to do a little bit of training this week, but it has not quite there. So it shows how close he is to returning to training but he won’t be travelling with us this weekend.”