City boss hopes players enjoy the occasion against international stars
Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale says that he hopes his team thrive on the opportunity to take the field against a Queens Park Rangers side that is full of international-calibre players.
A number of players in the Grecians’ ranks have experience at a higher level of football, but for many of the Academy graduates, it’ll be a first opportunity to face such formidable opposition. And Tis is hoping that his players will relish the chance to take part in an exhibition match in which the result isn’t a factor.
“I hope our players enjoy it,” said Tis. “Every player has different thoughts – some cope with certain situations better than others. There’ll be no pressure on them, and they’ll have nothing to lose. I’ll be disappointed if they don’t enjoy it and make the most of it.”
From a personal perspective, Paul also expressed his gratitude to Harry Redknapp for bringing his team down to Devon once again and offering a marquee friendly.
With £2 tickets on offer to under-18s and students, the occasion offers a good opportunity for fans to see a new-look City team against international stars in their own backyard, on a carpet of a pitch and in glorious weather.
“It’ll be an enjoyable evening for us,” he continued. It’s the third time Harry’s brought his team down in pre-season over the last four or five years, which is fantastic really and we’re very grateful to him for that.
“It’s a Premier League team of last year, and we’ll see the likes of Jamie Mackie again who it’ll be nice to have back at the Park. All round, it’ll be a very entertaining game – they’ve got a lot of names in their team which people will be acquainted with, and it’ll be an opportunity for some of our young players to put themselves on that stage with some very good players.
“The last time Harry came down with his Spurs and Portsmouth teams, they were really good nights. There were a lot of people who I don’t see very often that turned out to watch the game because there were big stars playing. It’ll be wonderful weather, the pitch is in first-class condition – the opportunity to see a really enjoyable game of football will be second to none really.”