Today, Tuesday 24 October, marks exactly one year since Gary Caldwell was officially unveiled as the new manager of Exeter City.
Taking over the reigns after four seasons under Matt Taylor, Gary's premiership began, coincidentally, with a trip to Derby County - the exact same fixture the Grecians face this evening. Gary sat down with us last week to reflect on the interview process, his successful appointment, and the events of the last 12 months.
"With any new job the interview process is nerve-wracking, but you're excited to potentially go to a new club and find out all about it," Gary began as he touched on the job opening up.
"I did a lot of work to see what the football club looked like, and I soon saw that myself and the club aligned with our views of what a good club looked like. I felt I had a really good connection straight away in the interview.
"When I got the call to say I'd got the job, I was so excited."
Gary joined the club part-way into City's first League One season in ten years and spoke about the challenges that coming in and working with an already established squad can have.
"It's difficult. At other clubs, from experience, I tried to change too much too quickly.With the way the team was set up, I let that be but just made little tweaks. I just set us up to win games early on.
"The team identity doesn't happen overnight so early on it was only about getting points. Over time, we gradually evolved the style of play.
"I didn't feel much pressure [being an external appointment]. It can be hard with new people coming to the club and wanting to do things differently, because it's human nature to be safe and be comfortable. The element of change can create uncertainty and we were conscious of that, byt we are constantly evolving and that is constantly ongoing."
In his first media interview with the club, Gary was keen to stress the importance of the motto that has adorned the club's badge for many years 'Semper Fidelis' but one that was rarely used by the City faithful. Semper Fidelis soon became the club's official social media hashtag.
"I'm quite big on the club crest and what it means and stands for. We need to represent those words that we carry on our chest and live by them every day. It is a family club that the supporters saved 20 years ago and they are everything that this club is.
"We have to represent them in the right way and the players have to understand where we come from. I know the supporters are a big part of this club, and when I got here and started to meet them, I realised that what made Exeter City special is the way they stand behind their team.
"Every time I am in the supporters company, even after a bad result, there is never any negativity. It is an amazing feeling to know they will always be behind us."
Hear the full in-depth 30 minute with Gary below ⬇️