Midfielder looks ahead to 2014/15
Grecians midfielder Matt Grimes is already looking forward to getting stuck into the 2014/15 campaign.
The youngster, who will celebrate his 19th birthday on the day that the Grecians face Reading in a pre-season friendly at St James Park, will be entering his second season as a professional.
City also have home friendlies scheduled against Swansea and Torquay, as well as an historic trip to Brazil as part of the preparation for the new season.
And with the schedule for the Sky Bet League 2 fixtures due to be released in a fortnight, the new season will take on a more tangible form as the dates get scribbled onto the calendar.
“We’ve had a nice break and I’m enjoying our time off, and now I’m already starting my summer programme to keep in good shape,” said Matt. “Now I’m already looking forward to next season and everything it entails.
“I hope that we can all pull together all play like we did in our good spells from last season, and carry that through for the full season rather than drifting off a bit.
“It’s good for the club to have a couple of bigger clubs like Reading and Swansea down at St James Park to play, and Brazil will be a fantastic experience. It’ll be a lot different to any other pre-season, and we’re really looking forward to that.
“I’m looking forward to the fixture release – that’s when you can start planning where you’re going to be and on what days, the derby games, and the long away trips that you’re maybe not looking forward to so much!”
Grimes, named Player of the Year in his inaugural campaign, is hoping that he and some his younger colleagues can build on the experience of last season to push on and improve the team for the coming year.
Alongside goalkeeper Christy Pym, striker Tom Nichols and centre-half Jordan Moore-Taylor, Grimes was another player that had a breakthrough year in 2013/14 and who will have a greater knowledge of the game to call upon when the season opens on August 9th.
“I’m really happy with all the work done last year and how everything has gone for me, and I’m just looking forward to taking that into next year,” he continued.
“There were a lot of players last season that didn’t have too much experience and we were looking to make the step up – and that lack of experience meant that we were a bit inconsistent from time to time.
“But we’ve played a lot of games between us now and we’re looking forward to next season to show everyone what we can do.”
Matt’s performances throughout last season unsurprisingly drew the attention of other clubs, with a number of suitors in the top two tiers reportedly weighing up moves for the teenager.
He has the ambition to complement his ability and is aiming to fulfil his potential in the game, but for the moment Grimes is keeping his focus on being part of a successful year for the Grecians on the pitch until he hears differently.
“It is flattering, but nothing has been said to me directly yet, and my head is on being at Exeter next season,” continued Matt.
“Obviously if a big club did come in and it was the right move for me, I wouldn’t turn down the chance to move on in my career – I’m looking to play as high as I can one day. But it’s all speculation at the moment so there’s nothing for me to think about at the present time.
“So I’m focused on Exeter – it’s a great club with some great players and I know a lot of people here. I’ve settled in well to the first-team this year and to stay here would be a great opportunity to get even more first-team games under my belt and the experience that comes with that, and to go from there.
“My personal ambition for this season is to be playing week in, week out and to become one of the key players for our team in the same way that Liam Sercombe and Scot Bennett have been this year, and to make sure I’m one of the first names on the team-sheet.”