Jake Taylor says competition for place in the Exeter City squad is very high ahead of Saturday’s match with Northampton Town.
City go into the match on the back of three win in Sky Bet League Two and a morale-boosting performance against Portsmouth in a Leasing.com Trophy semi-final.
It means, with players like Jake Taylor, Alex Fisher, Nicky Law and Gary Warren also getting minutes on their return from injuries as well, that competition for places in the starting XI is very high.
“I have said all along this season that the squad we have got is very good,” said Jake. “Even the players who are not in the squad at the moment would get in a lot of League Two teams. There is lots of competition for places which is healthy. Whoever plays everyone wants to do really well and it is in a good place at the moment.”
That was proven on Tuesday night as Matt Taylor made 10 changes to the starting XI and named some young players like Harry Kite and Jordan Dyer in the side against a full-strength Portsmouth team. However, the Grecians ran the League One outfit very close and were five minutes away from recording a shock defeat and making it to Wembley.
“It shows the squad we have got here,” he said. “Everyone who plays seems to be doing really well at the moment. It was obviously disappointing to lose the way we did but I was so proud of the boys that started and the young boys that played.
“It was a great experience for everyone. I’m sure for, the examples of Kitey (Harry Kite) and Jordan (Dyer), to come and play in a game like that and experience what it is like to play against a top team will be very valuable for them.”
Northampton away will be a tough test for City though. They are just outside the play-off places and have a good record at home.
“They are a good team, a tough team to play against and it is going to be a typical League Two game,” added Jake. “We will do our research on them and I am sure they will be doing the same, but we can go there with a lot of confidence after the three games last week and the good performance on Tuesday against Portsmouth.”