Grecians resume League One action at Cambridge United today.

GARY Caldwell has reiterated the need for Exeter City to maintain the incredibly high standards they set in Tuesday’s FA Cup clash with Nottingham Forest when they resume League One action at Cambridge United today.

Exeter turned in a performance that filled every Grecian with pride in the week, but their herculean efforts ultimately went unrewarded as they lost on penalties to a team that have taken the Premier League by storm this year.

That courage, determination, desire and passion will be needed again today and if they can replicate it, then there is only going to be one winner. But the psychological battle of ‘getting up’ for a bread and butter league game after the euphoria, high drama and prestige of facing Forest is one the Grecians must overcome.

“It was a really big occasion at SJP, probably one of the biggest in recent years, and I think the club showed itself off in a really positive way,” Caldwell said. “We lost the game, so I keep saying that to people who come up and say: ‘Thanks, well done,’ but we wanted to win the game, so that was a disappointment. But I couldn’t have asked for more from players, from the supporters, from everyone. We gave it our very best shot and now we have to take that forward.

“We have to show that every single game, or show a version of that every single game, from now until the end of the season and if we do that then there’s so much to look forward to.

“The physical bit is, I think, fairly easy. We know recovery protocols, you know what to eat, you know when to sleep. We’ll travel tomorrow, we’ll get to the hotel, do our pool session and everything, so we can tick that box.

“For me, the mental and emotional aspect of coming down and then coming back up, that is the harder bit. We’ve got different things that we do cognitively. We try and get the players smiling, we try and change the energy within the group in different ways, some stupid ways.

“It is important that we don’t just put it aside and say: ‘right, physically, you need to do this, this and this, do your job and get out of this building.’

“We have to connect with the players emotionally again, we have to build them back up for what’s going to be a huge effort on Saturday, so it’s not just physical recovery, that’s fairly easy. It’s mental, emotional, get together on the bus tomorrow and by 12.30pm on Saturday, we have to be at the very same levels we were at on Tuesday night because if we are, then we’re going to be a really, really difficult team to play against in League One.”

Caldwell has the luxury of making changes to freshen things up if he wants to. Ed Turns sits out the first of a three-match suspension after a red card against Forest, but Alex Hartridge returns from being cup-tied – as does Joel Colwill and new striker Andrew Oluwabori.