Exeter boss previews trip to Chesterfield
Ahead of the final game of the season – visiting Chesterfield’s Proact Stadium on Saturday – Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale hasn’t struggled to find motivation to play following the disappointment of missing out on the play-offs.
Chesterfield are ahead of the Grecians on goal-difference, and with both teams unable to reach the seventh-place spot now, the game on paper looks a dead-rubber. But in that respect, it offers the players and management a fresh opportunity to experiment and play without any anxiety.
“Things have changed a bit, but there’s plenty of reasons to play football and for players to play well, and plenty of reasons for us to do our very best,” said Paul. “It’s a different type of purpose, of course.
“There may be one or two changes, but not a lot. I have to learn something from the game – it’s not just a game just to write off and be complacent about. I’d like to get something from the game – be it viewing a player in a different position, or a different type of set-up. It’s an opportunity for me to see something different.
The Grecians face the Spireites on an afternoon when neither team has concerns at either end of the table, and Tis feels that this won’t be a bad thing inasmuch as both sides can afford to play without shackles. Paul also admitted that had Chesterfield been in a different position, he would have felt compelled to take the game with something of a more result-orientated approach.
He said: “I would have been respectful of the league position of the opposition, should that have been the case – but it’s not, so it gives us a bit of a free reign on what we do.
“We will prepare for the game, because we want to do our best, but it’s a different type of week. I doubt [Chesterfield] will be much different in how they view the game. We need to be very professional but with a different focus – I’m solely looking at what we’ll get out the game, and our players and our team will be learning something from this game.”