Rotation and results are key in City’s hectic spell
THE management skills of Matt Taylor will be put to the test as he has to strike a balance between getting positive results and keeping his Exeter City players as fresh as possible, and free from injury, to deal with a gruelling run of fixtures over the next eight weeks.
In a season like no other, the Grecians will finally reach the halfway stage of their campaign after tonight’s League Two clash with Morecambe, almost a month later than usual.
They are now into a challenging run of two games a week for the next eight weeks, a critical phase of the campaign where City will either sink or swim. But they know that, if they want to win promotion, they have to make the most of this block of games and build on Saturday’s excellent 3-1 win over Stevenage.
Exeter already have players suffering issues caused by fatigue. Perhaps it is worth remembering that this was always a campaign where the club’s batch of highly-rated youngsters would get their chance and getting it in this season like no other makes that even harder. At some point, young players always hit a wall and perhaps that has happened with one or two in recent weeks.
“Without a doubt and we thought it would come when the pitches change and it became more demanding and there are more games and it is exactly that,” Taylor said.
“We have to change our style of play to a certain extent, not so much when we go to good surfaces at places like Carlisle and Harrogate and that’s why Ryan (Bowman) does such a good job at the top end of the pitch – and the job of two players almost - because he works both centre halves. But we can’t keep relying on him, so Ben Seymour and Alex (Fisher) will get their opportunity in the next couple of games.
“That’s another way to get more energy into the team and you want the most energy at the top end of the pitch and then the old school centre halves amongst us can somehow dig it out when they are a little bit tired.”
Seymour, 21, has struggled to make an impact when called into the first team and is yet to score in his 20 league outings for the Grecians. He has notched twice in EFL Trophy games, but his career to date reminds me of a Tom Nichols, someone else that scored freely at youth level, but took a time to really get to grips to League Two fare. But when he did, the goals began to flow and led to a big-money move to Peterborough United.
Fisher has been used sparingly this season and not started for the Grecians in League Two since the 2-1 win over Crawley Town on October 20, when he was taken off after 52 minutes with City trailing 1-0 and replaced by Seymour. Now, they must be ready to take their chance.
“I was pleased with the lads that came in on Saturday and I was pleased with the substitutes as well because that is going to be so key for us,” Taylor added. “That group of players can’t play every single minute of every single game, especially playing Saturday-Tuesday, SaturdayTuesday for the next eight weeks.
“We are going to need everyone and the bodies that are coming back will be welcome.
“We have to look after this group until Tuesday night so we can get more energy on the pitch.”
One positive for Exeter is that captain Jake Taylor returned to training yesterday, so he should be in contention to either start, or be amongst the substitutes. Morecambe, meanwhile, are having a fine campaign under the management of former Plymouth Argyle boss Derek Adams, who has worked wonders in transforming them from being perennial relegation battlers to genuine promotion contenders as they arrive in Devon sitting in sixth place in League Two.
“We felt our performance up there, certainly in the second half, warranted more than a point and I keep saying it to this group of players that draws won’t get us to where we want to be,” he said.
“I have to input some energy into this group of players for Tuesday night. They gave absolutely everything on Saturday and I have to be sensible with the personnel selected to give some life to the game.
“If we play with life and intensity – as we did on Saturday – then we will have a chance.”