Exeter City hope togetherness from another long away trip pays off

Grecians return to the north west for the third time in a month to take on Wigan Athletic today.

Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell is taking the negative of a long coach journey as a positive as the Grecians return to the north west for the third time in a month to take on Wigan Athletic today.

Such arduous journey’s are the norm for the Grecians, who often travel more miles than any of their League One counterparts, but while many will see it as tiresome, boring and a chore, Caldwell uses it to garner spirit and bring his players and staff closer together.

“I think the travel is more difficult for teams coming to us because they don’t experience it,” Caldwell said on the eve of today’s trip. “We experience it every two weeks, so you get used to it but not only that, I think it brings us together more.

“Having eight hours on a bus on a Friday to talk, to play games – last time, the staff had a fantastic game of Dobble, which was carnage on the bus – it builds that spirit. It builds that togetherness - other teams don’t get that opportunity – so I think we have to use anything that might look like a negative and spin it into a positive and being on a bus for a long period of time can bring the team together - and we do different things on the bus.

“We stay at the hotel that we have been at before, so they feel quite comfortable at that hotel, we have been looked after in terms of food and on the bus and when we get to the hotel, so it’s easier for us than it is for supporters, I would say, in terms of how they get there. But that time we spend travelling is big in terms of spirit and togetherness."

SPARE a thought for Exeter City club secretary Andy Gillard. Anyone that knows ‘Gilly’ will know he will do anything for anyone, and he has done in over 20 years’ service to the club, but for the third time in a month, he is having to source tickets for manager Gary Caldwell for today’s League One trip to Wigan Athletic.

“It’s great for me because it’s right next to my house!” Caldwell said with a grin, with today’s away day closely following trips to Bolton Wanderers and Blackpool. “But it’s a nightmare for Gilly because I normally need about 12-15 tickets for these North West games and he is having a heart attack again to sort tickets!”

No doubt Gilly will come up trumps for the manager though, who returns to a club that he served with such distinction as a player – and led to promotion as manager from League One back in 2016. Last season, he returned with the Grecians and won 2-1 having suffered two losses at St James Park – one in the FA Cup. The other in the league.

Given he spent five and a half years with the Latics, making 111 appearances, managed them a further 71 times, lives just around the corner and they are managed by Shaun Maloney, one of his best friends in football, it is little wonder Caldwell enjoys going back to a club he holds so dear.

“Any time you go back to a club where you have spent a long period of time and had great success at that club, then it’s always special,” he said. “It is seeing people that you used to see on a daily basis, whether that be the media team, or staff at the club, a lot of those people are still there.

“Whenever I go back, whether that’s to watch a game or, like last season, when we went back to play, it is great to bump into those people, see them and reminisce, but ultimately, we have a job to do and that is to win the game again - like we did last season.

“Before the game, you will have a chat with people, but once the game starts, then the priority is on winning.”

On-loan MK Dons striker Mo Eisa, now plying his trade for Persian Gulf Pro League club Nassaji Mazandaran, and Jack Aitchison – who’s still a Grecian -were on target in that win last year, City’s first against the Latics since 1993. Now, they will be looking to make it back-to-back wins against Wigan, who have since recruited former City captain Will Aimson and loanee Dion Rankine. But despite a hefty outlay in terms of recruitment since that February clash, they are currently 14th in the table, a point behind the 12th-placed Grecians.

“I think they will probably be a little bit disappointed with how they have started. They have obviously taken Will from us, they have Dion (Rankine) who we had on loan last year and they have the finances at this level to really compete.

“I think they will be a little bit disappointed with how they have started the season, but we know how dangerous they can be. They are a really well-coached team, they are very flexible with how they can play whether it be in or out of possession.

“Last year, when we played them, the games were all slightly different and every game had a different way about it. Actually, the games we lost, we probably should have won and vice-versa, the game we won, we weren’t at our very best but, out of possession, we were excellent on the day, so there are signs from those games we can take, but they are a slightly different team to last year. I think they are more direct, they don’t focus on possession as much and we have to be aware of so many different things.

“It’s a game I love to prepare for because of all the tactical nuances within the game and we have to be ready for different things.”

City have no fresh injury issues with Caldwell’s only decision being who to select given there were some impressive performances from a City team that beat Tottenham Hotspur Under-21s in midweek. A welcome headache indeed and nothing compared to the one facing Gilly in obtaining enough tickets for his boss!