“Good for players to get recovery, good for other players to work hard and some injured players returning.”
It has been 11 days since a tired and battle-weary Exeter City side went off the field following a 1-0 victory against Cambridge United in
League One.
That victory moved the Grecians up to seventh place in the table and was their fifth match unbeaten in all competitions. It also marked the
end of a difficult week that featured nearly 1,000 miles of travel between away games against Wigan Athletic and Leyton Orient, as well as
a home victory over Cambridge. But you can be sure that the aches and pains of football warfare were alleviated by a seven-point haul out
of nine available.
The Grecians were far from perfect over that period, which is not lost on manager Gary Caldwell, who is seeking improvements at both
ends of the field despite his team keeping clean sheets in all five of those games.
“It’s been really good,” Caldwell remarked of the time between the triumph over Cambridge and tomorrow’s League One return at
Shrewsbury Town. “It’s wonderful for players to recover, for others to work hard, and for some wounded players to return. Demi
(Mitchell) and Vinnie (Harper) are back in partial training; Reece Cole and Ed James are back doing some grass running, so I always feel
like these breaks give us a little breathing room from games and allow those players to get back into training, and everyone is now fully
focused on preparing for Shrewsbury and getting back on track.
“It was a fantastic week, with three incredibly challenging games in three different formats, and seven points was an outstanding result.
Clean sheets are the backbone of everything we do, and having three clean sheets in those games is terrific. So, there is a lot of work to be
done in terms of results. But I still believe there are many aspects of our game that we can improve.
When asked where he wanted to see improvement, Caldwell stated, “I still believe we can be better defensively, even if we’re keeping clean
sheets. “I credit Joe Whitworth and the back three with a significant contribution.”We need to win the ball back better, especially in
particular areas of the pitch. I believe we can improve our attacking play by getting to the final third and executing from there. We can
make and score more. We use numbers and video to support our claims, and then collaborate with players.The players’ attitude toward it,
as well as their desire for more and improvement, has been really pleasant to me. There hasn’t been any complacency or a sense that
‘we’ve cracked it here, we’re winning football games, and we’re sitting seventh.’ The players have done anything but that.
“They’ve been ravenous for that information, for that extra effort to improve, and that’s a very satisfying thing for me.
While the break has allowed Caldwell to get players fit or back into training, it is unlikely that any will be ready for tomorrow’s Sky
broadcast match in Salop.
Demi Mitchell last wore a City shirt on October 31, although Caldwell hopes to see him at Bristol Rovers in the EFL Trophy (on October
29) and play some part in the game. That is the current objective, but we are taking it gently.
“We’re bringing them into training, and in certain drills, he hasn’t had any contact, so there are still a lot of obstacles to overcome, but
that’s the game we’re looking at to get some minutes in.
“There has been progress with guys who need training, such as Jay Bird and Caleb Watts, but he is clearly unavailable for the game. They
increased their training loads.
“The boys that have been playing regularly have recovered and will hopefully be fresh and ready to go but it’s just really Demi and Vinnie
still working to get back, Reece Cole still working to get back and Pat (Jones) and Yanic (Wildshcut) still long-term injuries that won’t be
back – obviously Yanic for the season, Pat hopefully at the turn of the year.”
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