On Tuesday night, Exeter City will travel down to local rivals Plymouth Argyle for what promises to be a cracking Checkatrade.com Trophy group stage game.
The Grecians had endured a hard week, suffering defeats to Coventry City and Notts County.
However, they bounced back with a resounding 4-1 home win against Morecambe on Saturday, with Troy Brown and Dean Moxey finding the net, while Jayden Stockley nabbed a brace. Although much has been made of the side’s strike-force, Tis was keen to stress the team-nature of the performance.
“They (Reuben Reid and Jayden Stockley) played well as a pair,” he said. “But they were ably supported by the rest of the team. They certainly couldn’t have played that way without the service they received – I thought the whole team played particularly well. We had a good rhythm from back to front.”
In placing the victory in a wider context, Tis was keen to stress its importance in helping the team to bounce back.
“We lost our rhythm against Coventry,” he said. “And though I thought we played well against Notts County, we got on the wrong side of a good team. But now, we’re back on it.
“It was really important [to win]. We’ve had a really good start to the season and we didn’t want to feel like we were stalling. We’ve been on an extended run and it's important to keep that focus going forward. It’s not just about today’s game [against Morecambe], we’ve got to keep the momentum going.
“After losing two games last week, we really needed a response and I think we got it.”
A 7.45pm kick-off, Tis was clearly excited about the prospect of a derby under the lights – the Grecians’ second in a week.
"The Checkatrade Trophy is a competition that we always enjoy and it’s a local derby," he said. "We’ll make a few changes in the team and we’ll look forward to it. We’ve got no reason not to!”