“After th”e run we had pre-Christmas, there was a lot of negativity, but we didn’t ever waver from the plan we wanted.”
At almost any other club in the EFL, Gary Caldwell would surely no longer still be the manager. When Exeter City went on their worst run in 28 years and a 13-game winless streak before Christmas, you could be forgiven for wondering when the sack was likely to have come.
Football is a cut-throat industry and it only sometimes takes a poor half of football for fans to get on the backs of players and managers. When you go 100 days without a win, the calls grow louder and louder.
There were times when it looked like the manager was on the brink. The woeful 3-0 defeat to Fleetwood Town was a low point, which was followed by the board coming out and backing the boss, only to lose 7-0 to Bolton Wanderers almost immediately was the moment it looked like something might be done.
However, nothing took place. The board remained composed. They made the decision to remain true to their strategy and their belief in Caldwell. The Grecians appear to be headed for another mid-table finish, so it appears that the choice was wise.
After losing 3-2 against Reading on New Year’s Day, City did indeed slip into the relegation zone. The Grecians emerged from the relegation zone after defeating Carlisle United five days later, and they haven’t been back since.
After the seven points in a week which culminated with wins over Shrewsbury Town and then Burton Albion, Exeter are all-but safe. The gap to the bottom four is now 12 points – albeit with Cheltenham Town having games in hand – and City are 15 th in League One.
Since New Year’s Day, City are 12 th in the League One form table. And while things haven’t been perfect – a lack of goals remains a problem – Exeter have done enough to ensure, barring a disastrous end to the campaign, a third successive season in the third tier.
Despite having been appointed on October 24, 2022, Caldwell is the seventh longest serving manager in League One. He is 27th longest serving of the 92 in the top four divisions, with quite remarkably, ten of those above the Scot being Premier League managers.
It has been a difficult season for City. But ultimately, it looks like being another successful one, and the manager is looking up and not down ahead of the final seven games of the campaign.
“Where we are now is success from budget and level playing and the run we went on pre-Christmas, so where we are now is an incredible success,” he said. “But as a group and a staff and players, we don’t want that to be the end, want to do more, keep pushing to finish higher in the league.
“When we are at our best, we can win a lot of football matches. Staying in the division is an incredible achievement but the mentality needs to be more than just looking at safety every year. After the run we had pre-Christmas, there was a lot of negativity, but we didn’t ever waver from the plan we wanted and have to show in the next seven games.
“The board were fantastic with me and everyone how they run the club, it is second to none. We have no-one piling money in to help the budget. At the time I thanked them for the support, and I hope to do my job and get a lot of points by the end of the season and make it successful. We have seven massive games left where we want to pick up as many points as we can and finish as positively as we can.”
With City’s trip to Leyton Orient this weekend having been called off due to international commitments – the Grecians have five players away with their countries – it has been a two week break between fixtures before Charlton Athletic arrive on Good Friday. The plan for that fortnight was put together to try and give the players a break, but keep fitness levels high, before the run-in.
“We will rest Sunday, Monday, train hard, and they have next weekend off, and then a four day build up for Charlton and Cheltenham,” Caldwell said after the 1-0 win over Burton. “It has been planned in advance, the players know what they need to do, and after recovery, they come back in and will work hard. The fitness levels shown are incredible, we will recover well, and then go again and work hard.”
The break from matches though has given Caldwell a little bit of time to focus more on next season. Meetings have been held to discuss transfer targets for the summer, as well as trying to tie down more of the current squad for 2024/25.
