‘We had our flu jabs and at first I just thought it was symptoms from that... and then I realised I couldn’t taste or smell anything and I thought: ‘here we go...’
HAVING recovered fully, after testing positive at the end of 2020 for Covid-19, Josh Key has said that the fitness of Exeter City’s players could be a crucial factor in the League Two promotion race.
The 21-year-old contracted coronavirus in December and he said that the virus initially ‘knocked him back’, but two months later, he feels that he is back to best and back to full fitness.
With the season being condensed and both the weather and Covid-19 having played havoc with the fixture schedule - and with barely a spare midweek before the end of the campaign - Key said that the emphasis on fitness in Matt Taylor’s coaching strategy, combined with City’s youthful squad, may be to their advantage.
“It knocked me a little bit and did affect me,” Key said, when asked about his experience of coronavirus.
“We had our flu jabs and at first I thought it was just symptoms from the flu jabs and then it got to a day before the Saturday and I realised I couldn’t taste or smell anything and thought: ‘here we go’. So I got my test and it did affect me, and even when I did come back, it took me a month to get back to full fitness.
“Before that I had the injury at Bradford where I ran into the post, and that time through December and January was a struggle for me, but I feel I am back to full fitness and where I should be, and mentally, it helped me to have a bit of a rest. Although a bad thing happened, it may have helped me in some sense, and yeah, I’m back to full fitness.”
With the Grecians’ home game against Grimsby Town on Saturday falling victim to the weather, City will only have one midweek before the end of April where they aren’t in action, excluding the Good Friday/ Easter Monday double-header weekend, and Exeter’s fitness may be to their advantage come the end of the season.
“The older lads may say different, but being young, if you look after your body, you recover quicker, and that might be a blessing in disguise,” Key said.
“Even before us young lads were in the team, Matty has build the squad on fitness and players who can run and I think it is testimony for what we do that when we don’t have games, we have really hard training sessions to keep our fitness going, and that runs from the old lads to the young lads.
“We have young players who towards the end of the season when there are more tired legs on other sides, we have that bit more energy and it could come in handy.”
Before this season, Key had only appeared three times for the Grecians, all in the EFL Trophy, but he has swiftly become an important part of the squad, appearing in 29 of City’s 35 games so far, and the youngster said that he exceeded even what he expected to achieve this campaign.
Initially, he envisaged being the
spare man in the squad, or a substitute, but after Pierce Sweeney and Jake Caprice picked up injuries during pre-season, Key was the only recognised right-back in the squad, and took his chance and initially made the shirt his own.
He said: “I have overdone what I thought I would get to and earlier than I would. Last season, I thought I might be on the bench, or the spare man in the squad, but then worked really hard in the off-season and there were a few injuries and that gave me the opportunity to step in and I have taken my chance.
“I have enjoyed it so far and hope I can play as many games as I can and contribute to the end of the season.
“As good as playing in the reserves and loans are to develop, this season has forced the manager to play us youngsters who are coming through.”
Having come through the youth system as a winger, Key has primarily played in the deeper right-back role this season, and he said long-term, he expects his future to lie as a defender.
“I thought I’d be playing a winger but, sometimes, the only way you get to play is by getting in the team anywhere. I had played as a full-back on loan at Tiverton, so have played there and I am comfortable there.
“Going forward, as much as I love playing higher up, wing-back or fullback may be my best position as one thing the modern day full-back needs is that he needs to have pace and a good attacking threat, and the way the game is going, it is great position for me to knuckle down.
“This season I have improved my game in terms of keeping the game simple, understanding what it takes to win a game, rather than playing to develop as you do in the academy, and it is very much about playing to win and adapting and making the right decision making in the right areas. There are still things I can improve, I want to get more assists, and make sure my delivery into the box is better, but that is stuff to come.”
Key was one of four City academy products to recently put pen-to-paper to sign a long-term deal at St James Park, and he said he had no doubts at all about committing his future to the club.
“Being young and from the academy, they treat me well, and when I was offered the contract, I was delighted and so thankful for the opportunity that they gave me, and there was never a doubt in my mind that I wouldn’t sign,” he said.
“Any young player wants to play at the best level that they can and achieve their potential, but at the moment, I love being at Exeter, it my hometown club, and right now, I am doing what I can for Exeter, and if we get promotion and into League One, we will all be at a better place if we do that.”
If you look after your body, you recover quicker and that might be a blessing in disguise JOSH KEY