City In The Media - Tuesday
Ahead of tonight's clash with Bristol Rovers at The Park we decided to round-up all the pre-match mentions of the Grecians on the world wide web.
City striker Ben Watson tells the Express & Echo about the need to bounce back
Ben Watson says Exeter City's players let down the club's fans in Saturday's lacklustre home defeat to Stockport County.
The striker returned to the first team for the first time in 14 months but was unable to stop City sliding to a 1-0 defeat to a side who hadn't won in 17 attempts and remain seven points adrift at the foot of Coca-Cola League One.
Such was their disappointment, City's players will be delighted to have an immediate opportunity to get back on track when Bristol Rovers arrive at St James'Park tonight.
And Watson, who is likely to retain his place on the substitute's bench, insists the players are desperate to erase the memory of Saturday's hurtful loss.
thisisbristol preview Tisdale's options ahead of tonight's match
Exeter City boss Paul Tisdale has been juggling with his formation in recent weeks in a bid to find a winning formula.
But it is absent players rather than systems that are the biggest bugbear for the Grecians at the moment.
Leading scorer Adam Stansfield and Marcus Stewart are both sidelined by injuries, while Barry Corr is serving a five-match suspension.
Tisdale started with Stuart Fleetwood and Richard Logan up front against Stockport on Saturday, but they failed to make much impression and young West Brom striker Marcus Haber was then given an outing from the bench. The teenage Canadian marksman could go one better by starting the game tonight with Logan the one likely to miss out.
Former Bristol City midfielder Alex Russell could also return to the fray - he had a fine game for the Grecians at the Memorial Stadium earlier in the season and can be a key playmaker.
Andy Marriott's new pink goalkeeping kit has got people talking including the Daily Star, the Express & Echo and even Rome based Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport.
Corriere dello Sport (translation)
"The pink will save us." The conviction of Andy Marriott, experienced goalkeeper in England, who said he was certain that wearing a pink track manages to save his team from relegation.
Marriott, 39 years and much experience in the lower divisions of British and Welsh championships, playing now for the Exeter City. The team is in the relegation zone in League One, but Marriott has found the solution: the complete pink, in his view, destroyed the attacking opponents and causes them to miss the goal."I do not care about the gossips and the teasing - he said the goalie does not stop me-sure to wear a pink outfit playing.
A GOALKEEPER yesterday claimed he could save his team from relegation by wearing a pink strip.
Veteran Andy Marriott, 39, reckons his all-pink kit dazzles strikers into missing the goal.
Andy's team, Exeter City, are in the relegation zone in League One.
He said: "Taunts will not stop me wearing a pink kit. I've had a few wolf whistles but there have been a lot of inquiries at the club shop about it."
It may not have prevented Exeter City falling to defeat against Stockport, but goalkeeper Andy Marriott's head-turning pink kit could be a secret weapon in the battle against relegation.
That's the view of an expert in sport psychology, who believes the striking outfit sported by their man between the sticks could give the Grecians the edge in crucial games.
City's veteran goalie has attracted more than his fair share of attention from commentators and opposition supporters in recent weeks since he began turning out in the new-look kit.
And following his impressive performance against Millwall at the New Den, some have even dubbed him the Pink Panther.
Virgo is also ruled out of Saturday's key home game against fellow strugglers Exeter and the Sky televised visit to third-placed Colchester on Monday March 8 following the decision not to contest his dismissal at Leeds on Saturday.
He was sent off for a tackle on sub Max Gradel ten minutes from the end of the 1-1 draw at Elland Road, his fourth red card in two seasons and sixth of his Albion career.
Poyet said: "We talked a lot about it and I asked Adam as well. We all agreed that it was not a good option to appeal, not because of the danger of the tackle but the spectacular nature of the tackle.
The Western Morning News reflects on Saturday's 1-0 loss to Stockport
A bad, bad day at the office for City and the boos that rung around the stadium said it all. Now though, is not the time to panic.
It was merely one game and three points dropped and Exeter have plenty of time and matches in which to get out of their predicament.
The first task Tisdale has, though, is to lift his players' heads and raise their spirits. Confidence has taken a huge dent, but the Grecians have not suddenly become a bad team overnight. Some players need to quickly refind their form, others need to stand up and be counted.
Others have to pull their fingers out and stop believing their own hype. Starting tomorrow against Bristol Rovers.
