Exeter City FC

Exeter City midfielder Lee Martin is targeting some improved form after the arrival of his family in Devon.

The 31-year-old, who joined the Grecians in the summer following his departure from League One side Gillingham, has turned out 20 times so far this season but the midfielder believes City fans are yet to see the best of him.

When asked if he has been happy with how things have gone so far for him at St James Park personally this season, Lee explained: “If I’m being brutally honest, then not really.

“It’s been difficult to move away, and I’m back playing out wide, whereas last year I was playing in the centre. It takes time to settle in, but I’ve got my family and children down here now permanently, so that’s good. Hopefully, the tide can turn.

“My youngest is only five months old, and was just two months old when I moved, so it’s been tough. More so on my partner having to look after two kids at home.

“It’s been difficult, you miss your boys and your family. The travelling back and forth to London has been tough, but now we are settled, hopefully I can kick on. I love the area, we’ve moved down to Budleigh, we’re now by the seaside for the kids, it’s lovely.”

The Grecians make the trip to Tranmere Rovers on Saturday looking to bounce back from a home defeat to Forest Green Rovers last weekend, and Lee believes the squad are in a good place to travel to the north west and take away a positive result.

He continued: “We’ve had a good week, we’ve recovered and rested well from the tough week last week, especially with the travelling. But we are looking forward to it.

“We were disappointed (after the Forest Green result), but it was just one of them games. I think we’ve been fantastic up until now, and that’s probably one of the games where we didn’t compete, but we go again.

“Most games in this league are tough. We have to worry about ourselves and if we turn up and show what we are capable of, and do the basics right, then we stand a good chance.”

Having spent the majority of his career playing in the Championship and League One, prior to a brief loan spell with Northampton Town in League Two in 2016, Lee believes the standard of the league has improved a great deal.

“The standard has got better since I played here in 2016 with Northampton for 10 games,” said Lee. “I’ve been impressed with teams like Forest Green and Crawley that want to try and play the right way, and they’re good at it.”

The midfielder was also keen to lend his support to Responsible Gambling Week, as Exeter City aim to raise awareness of the campaign.

On gambling, Lee explained: “When the fun stops, stop. It’s not always that simple but it’s something that everyone should be aware of. Addiction is a disease, essentially. It’s not as simple as just stopping, so if we can support it then that’s brilliant.”