Tis: We must focus on game in front of us
“We just have to concentrate on the game in front of us,” was the message from Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale ahead of their match with Portsmouth on Saturday.
The game at St James Park is fourth game at home this season and, while they have performed well in all of those game, they have only managed to pick up one victory in that time – against Brentford in the opening round of the EFL Cup.
Tisdale says the team have to be professional about the situation though and can’t afford to get frustrated by their points total not matching up to their performance levels so far this campaign.
“It is the reality of the situation,” he said. “You are a professional person and it is the industry you are in and you have go to pick points.
“There is an element of frustration to it, but you have to look at the defeats and say: ‘Why and how, and what do we do next.’
“So Portsmouth is a different game. You have to forget those things and look at the game in front of you. The 90 or 95 minutes, whatever the duration will be, and you have got to come out with points.”
Tisdale hinted that a game against Portsmouth help his player, because with Paul Cook’s side being the bookies’ favourites for promotion at the start of the season City will be under no illusions of the task that is before them.
“It will do us no harm playing against Portsmouth; a good team that we have to concentrate against,” he said. “There will be no opportunity, I don’t think, for the players to step of the gas and think it is easy.
“Portsmouth are a good football team, who have good possession and will want to dominate with the ball.
“They have got some good players and a good travelling support – it will be a good atmosphere. They will also be an away team who appreciate the good surface at St James Park, which it is currently proving to be this year.
“It will be a game where we will have to cover good areas and play as a team. I’m expecting a difficult game, but you’d be hard pressed this year to find me saying in a pre-match press call that we haven’t got a tough challenge ahead of us because that is nature of League Two.”
The match against Portsmouth kicks-off at 3pm on Saturday. Ticket can still be purchased in advance by going to http://tickets.ecfc.co.uk.
Fans are also reminded that they must be registered on the club’s database to buy tickets for the subsequent home game against Plymouth Argyle on September 17 at 1pm. The best way to do this would be to bring an ID and proof of address in the form of a letter to the club’s reception on the day of the Portsmouth match. You can then register, buy and collect your ticket for the Devon derby all at the same time.