MANAGER: Looking forward to the journey

“We're looking forward to the journey,” he said. “Changing the way we prepare for away games is something I’ve looked at. 

“You take advice and you look at how other people have prepared things at the football club. You then look at the results the team have had when they've travelled later, trained on the way or trained here before they've travelled, and it all comes down to poor results. I back myself that I know how to prepare a team so I'm going to stick with the preparation method I deem to be correct.” 

“We know it’s going to be a tough game,” he told us. “We've looked at Exeter and we have a good idea about who will play and who won't play for them. We can go there and make it a battle or we can go there and play an expansive game. 

“They’ve recovered well from their cup exit which was labelled as a giant killing. They've got good footballing beliefs and they show bravery in how they play football. They did have a slow start to the season but they've bounced back from that very well.” 

“They've got some good players and they use the ball well,” he said. “I worked with Danny Butterfield at Crystal Palace and I took their left back, Craig Woodman, on loan at Mansfield and he scored a cracking goal. Clinton Morrison is another good professional. He's gone with training at the furthest club north to one of the most southern, so his desire to stay in the game is still there. 

“When he was training with us we never got down to talking about terms. It was a case of me finding out where Clinton was fitness wise and I thought he needed more time and an extra workload. 

“We also brought Derek Asamoah in around that time and that has paid off. We could have worked with Clinton and Derek, and we do need to score goals to get out of where we are, but that’s something we’ve been working on with the players we have.” 

“We're hopeful Brad Potts will be available this weekend,” he confirmed. “He's been out on the grass with full contact and we'll keep an eye on him and decide whether we'll risk him. He's going to come to Exeter so it will be down to how he travels and whether there is any reaction to the training. 

“Steven Rigg has got a slight injury to his thigh. It's very similar to the previous injury he had, but it's on the other leg. He won't be ready for this weekend but he's another one we'll keep monitoring. 

“It's frustrating because he wants to play. He's got a great energy and enthusiasm about him. Some people would pick up a slight knock and go straight into the treatment room but, because of his non-league background, Steven has been used to not getting paid if he doesn't play. They're prepared to go out and last as long as they can but the professional game is slightly different. 

“It's not about being able to train. The more games you can play the more money you earn. It's a learning curve for Steven because when he does get a slight knock he needs to be professional, look after himself and take advice from the medical staff. Going into full time football will have an affect on his body and he needs to learn to manage that.” 

“Gary Dicker is another who is unlikely to be involved this weekend,” he said. “We've sent him down to Manchester to do some rehabilitation work on an anti-gravity treadmill. That means he's able to run naturally without carrying his body weight.” 

“Troy Archibald-Henville and Danny Kearns have both been training and joining in the 11v11 games with no ill-effects,” he continued. “Troy is desperate to be playing as much as he can and to train as hard as he can. He'll be doing everything he can to get himself out on the pitch.”