Paul pleased going into final week of preparation
Going into the final weekend ahead of the start of the 2013/14 campaign, Grecians manager Paul Tisdale declared himself contented with the lie of the land at Exeter City.
Opening day opponents Bristol Rovers have struggled somewhat with injury during the off-season, whereas the Grecians have come through largely unscatched.
Speaking after the 2-1 win at Salisbury, Tis said: “We haven’t finished our pre-season yet – we’ve still got another week to go. We’ve got one or two little niggles coming out of today but we’ve got the weekend to recover.
“So we have two days of rest before we got into the big week – I don’t want to tempt fate, but it’s not a bad situation to be in.
Tis was particularly pleased with how the players have come through a busy week and are looking closer to being ready for the big kick-off on Saturday 3rd August.
“It’s been a hard week,” he continued. “We’ve played Swansea, Buckland, Yeovil and Weston before tonight. This was ‘match week’ in terms of minutes. The players are a little bit sore, and regardless of the opposition they’ve had to work very hard.
“Salisbury were no pushovers, and we had to work ourselves into the game. We improved on some aspects of our game since our game on Tuesday against Yeovil, having done two days’ worth of work on the training ground on the back of that game. Everyone is a step up from where they were this time a week ago.”
The Grecians’ winner at the Raymond McEnhill Stadium came courtesy of a particularly slick passing move, which Jimmy Keohane finished with aplomb. New signing Sam Parkin was the provider, with Jordan Moore-Taylor to set the striker on his way.
“Sam Parkin is showing really good movement. He’s got a lot about him – he’s very mobile, and it was a lovely pass from Jordan Moore-Taylor, and Jimmy Keohane did what he does best which is arrive in the box and score.”