Time for Grecians to hold their nerve

Having suffered play-off final heartache last season, it would have been easy for Exeter to begin the current campaign with their tails between their legs, but that could not have been further from the truth, with seven wins and a draw in their first eight games.

There have been blips along the way but a late-season rally with five wins and two draws from eight games sees The Grecians sitting just one place and one point outside the automatic promotion spots.

A play-off place is guaranteed but Paul Tisdale will be eager to sidestep the lottery of the post-season and put his feet up a week or so earlier with a place in League One guaranteed.

Momentum in any sport is key and City have it at the moment with just two league games to go and, at 6/4 to go up with some new bookies, they are fancied to get the job done.

If you fancy a flutter, then check out these but Tisdale will not want to leave anything to chance and will be targeting maximum points from the brace of remaining matches.

City travel to Stevenage Town on Saturday before welcoming Colchester United to St James Park on the final day of the campaign.

Both opposition clubs are comfortably in mid-table and have little to play for and Exeter’s fans will be hoping that their players already ‘have their flip-flops on’.

Wycombe Wanderers and Notts Country are City’s two rivals for third place, with champions Accrington Stanley and second-placed Luton Town already guaranteed a place in the third tier next term.

Accrington did The Grecians a huge favour at the weekend by putting four past Wanderers to help the South West club close to within a single point, but County are in red-hot form with three straight wins.

Kevin Nolan’s side took care of Yeovil 4-1 on Saturday and may well be a handful in the play-offs if they fail to snatch third.

The challenge now for the Exeter management is to ensure that confidence remains high even if they do fail to secure third, with the prize of a spot in League One very much attainable this time around.

The fans will be vital to the club’s chances of sealing promotion in May, something not lost on midfielder Jake Taylor, who scored his eighth league goal of the season in the weekend’s 2-2 draw with Crawley Town.

“They were fantastic all day and it helps so much,” he said. “When there are a few tired bodies out there and you hear them signing it does urge you on.
“We have got two more games to go and we need them as much as possible,”

Should City have to settle for the play-offs then it may well be either Lincoln City or Coventry City they come up against in the semi-finals, and so there will be one eye on how they fare in the last few weeks.

The duo both have three league games to go and have been winning of late but all that Tisdale can do is make sure his charges are ready for whatever is thrown at them.