Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell has praised his players for their recent form and urged them to carry it on heading into the final seven games of the season.
The Grecians have been in fine form in the last few games, taking seven points from a possible nine since their 2-1 defeat to Peterborough United at the beginning of the month.
Caldwell’s side have beaten teams around them in Burton Albion and Shrewsbury Town, to take them up the table but have also managed an impressive draw against promotion-chasing Bolton Wanderers. Those wins against both Burton and Shrewsbury, who were direct rivals in the relegation fight have allowed Exeter to move further away from the drop zone, and show their progression as a team in the process.
Having struggled to find the net all season, scoring just 33 goals, it is fairly obvious where Exeter’s problems still lie. That being said, six of those goals have arrived in the past three games, and the attack seems to be finally gelling. If able to continue the current momentum, the Grecians could well break into the top half.
The League One side are now up to 15th in the competition, but Caldwell has admitted he wants them to pass the 50-point mark, despite being 12 points clear of the drop zone.
Speaking to Devon Live, Caldwell remained upbeat about his sides’ current performances.
“We are a good team and have been a good team all season, We have had difficult moments but we have seen a team that has learnt, our resilience and togetherness and understanding has grown and we have seven massive games left where we want to pick up as many points as we can and finish as positively as we can. To where we were at Christmas to where we can see, it can still be a fantastic season”
“I have just challenged the players. Last week I told them this was a seven point week, and challenged them again that with seven games to go, we want to pick up as many points as we can and that will start again. Seven games to go, win as many points as we can, this can be successful, we don’t look further than that.”
“When you see the quality and fighting spirit we have, hopefully we can pick up a lot of points. There is no target, we just want to finish as high as we can. I hate the 50 point mark. We want to get points, are in a good position, we are not safe yet, but the mentality at the club needs to be more than 50 points. It needs to be a team that is competitive whoever we are playing.
“When we are at our best, we can win a lot of football matches. Staying in the division is an incredible achievement but the mentality needs to be more than just looking at safety every year. After the run we had pre-Christmas, there was a lot of negativity, but we didn’t ever waver from the plan we wanted and we have to show that in the next seven games.”
With Viljami Sinisalo, Ilmari Niskanen, Yanic Wildschut, Mo Eisa and Luke Harris all on international duty, the Grecians have to wait until Easter weekend to play again. A tough game against Charlton Athletic is followed by a trip to Cheltenham Town who are fighting to beat the drop.
Writer’s View
Although Exeter may well have suffered somewhat of a wobble a few weeks ago, they’ve proved over the last three games that they have the quality to keep them in the third tier. Seven points from nine is not relegation form at all. Given how the team has improved in the second half of the season, keeping the bulk of the squad may serve them well next year.
The manager appears to be getting a tune out of his players, it’s not a surprise to see it’s taken the Devon side time to gel with 25 new arrivals across this season. They’ve hit form at just the right time though and the shackles now appear to be off for the players to express themselves for the final seven games.