Exeter City FC

Exeter City manager Matt Taylor says the Grecians have been given a confidence boost following two consecutive wins but is expecting a tough match away to an in-form Carlisle United in Sky Bet League Two.

The sides go into the match at Brunton Park with City sat in seventh place and Carlisle in fifth as both sides look to push towards the top end of the table.

Ahead of the match, the City boss said: “Whenever you win games it boosts your confidence, on the back of a good performance against MK Dons. We go to Carlisle, who are the form team at the moment, in fantastic form and it’s a difficult place to go. It’s going to be a tough test, but one we feel we are ready for.”

Matt also revealed there are few slight knocks in the camp at the moment but believes his City side will be well prepared as they travel north looking for a third consecutive victory.

He continued: “There are a few knocks and niggles and a bit of illness in the camp but nothing out of the norm in terms of preparations. We’ve got to go there with the right mindset, a similar one to which we had last weekend, attack the game and attack the opposition. If we can put in a similar sort of performance, then it will be a good game of football.

“They are the form team in the league, and they score a lot of goals and hurt some good teams, it’s a good surface which will hopefully suit both teams. Both teams want to get the ball down and play and it will be fine margins. It’s a long journey, we’ll get that out of the way first and foremost, we’ll train on the way up there, but we feel we’re ready off the back of the last couple of games.”

Following a positive performance last time out against MK Dons at St James Park, the City boss explained that he is expecting a different sort of test up north on a big pitch at Brunton Park.

Matt explained: “It’s a big pitch, and a good one, which is testament to their ground staff and it’s always well looked after and well prepared. It will be a different sort of game to the weekend, we obviously used the pitch and conditions to our advantage at times against MK and really went at them. We know a little bit about Carlisle, a new manager has gone in there and it doesn’t seem to have changed too much, and you wouldn’t want to when you’re on such good form.”

Matt also praised the City fans for their recent support and is hopeful to see as many Grecians make the long journey as possible to help his side through what is expected to be a tough encounter.

“We get supported everywhere we go,” said Matt. “We really appreciate it, hopefully they can support us in good numbers, and if they can’t get to Carlisle then we want them at home against Bury the following week. You felt it made a difference against MK, it felt like a bit of a derby atmosphere and the crowd got right behind us. We gave them something to sing about straight away in that game and hopefully we’ll do the same this weekend. Our fans are excellent, they travel in numbers really well, and away from home they sing non-stop for 90 minutes and we’ll need their support this weekend.”

With Christy Pym and Dara O’Shea nominated for the PFA Bristol Street Motors League Two Player of the Month Award, Matt praised the two players for their work over what has been a positive January for the group collectively.

He continued: “It’s testament to the way the group been over the last month. Two goals conceded from two set pieces, so if we can eradicate those little errors then we’ll be in an even better position defensively. Christy probably hasn’t been overworked and that’s testament to the boys in front of him in Dara and Deano (Dean Moxey) but also the group working hard for each other.”