Training presents City boss with new challenge Taylor and his coaching staff have to be creative as next CV19 tests prove negative

MATT Taylor and his staff will have to be creative and inventive when it comes to designing training sessions for small groups of players at Exeter City.

The Grecians returned to training on June 1 to prepare for the League Two play-offs, which are expected to take place later in June, but things were very different at the club’s Cat & Fiddle training base due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Sessions were limited to individual and small groups, which is far from ideal for a team sport, but Taylor has every confidence he has the staff to adapt and make the sessions beneficial for both the players as individuals and the team as a whole.

“Definitely, but I am lucky because I probably have three of the most enthusiastic and detailed young coaches you can find in Wayne Carlisle, Dan Green and Connor Derbidge, people like that,” Taylor said.

“It is just another challenge which I am sure they will be able to overcome. Some of the players have been doing individual sessions anyway, so the fact that we can add a few more players here and there, the general sessions will look quite similar anyway and soon as we get the green light from the government and EFL for contact training, we will go straight into that.”

City have not played since March when they suffered a 3-1 defeat at Walsall and their form immediately prior to the outbreak of the virus ultimately cost them their chance of automatic promotion.

The Grecians had been in the top three for virtually all of the season and it does seem harsh that they have missed out on the chance of automatic promotion. However, they do still have the chance of going up by taking part in their third play-off campaign in the last four years.

But while many players, certainly in the top flight, seem reluctant to get back playing, Taylor said his players can’t wait to get out on the pitch again.

“We can only complain and feel disappointed about how the league has finished because we put ourselves in a position to challenge, which is where we were, and the season was cancelled with nine games to go, which is the most disappointing factor,” Taylor said. “But we certainly can’t moan about still having the opportunity to actually get promoted if that arises.

“My players – and I am sure the majority would say the same – would play tomorrow if the opportunity arose. They are paid professionals and anyone saying they need extra time to train their players is talking nonsense. I don’t understand it, I really don’t.

“Maybe our football club is a little bit different, but these players have been chomping at the bit. They want to play football and they are desperate to get something from the season and whether we get promoted or not, at least they would have had an opportunity to have an affect on that, as opposed to it just being cancelled.”

There was some good news for the Grecians this week when their second round of testing for Covid-19 returned negative results for all players and members of staff.

Two individuals from the first batch of tests received positive results. They were both, and continue to be, asymptomatic and are currently still in isolation.

Taylor said: “From the minute anyone arrives at the training ground, to when they leave, we are following the guidelines to ensure we can train safely. It is extremely pleasing to receive all negative results from the latest round of testing.”