Exeter City wary of Mansfield Town threat but looking to extend unbeaten run

SATURDAY’S 2-0 win over relegation rivals Shrewsbury Town moved Exeter City seven points clear of the League One relegation zone and eased some of the nervous tension that was beginning to build at St James Park.

Tonight, the Grecians can extend that gap further if they can overcome a Mansfield Town side that arrive in Devon having not won in 13 games. Despite that poor run, which has seen the Stags go from promotion contenders to relegation battlers, manager Gary Caldwell is wary of the threat they pose, pointing to their early season form as evidence of how good they can be.

“It’s strange to get to March and having not played Mansfield yet, we still have to play them twice, but we will get to know them in the coming weeks,” Caldwell said.

“They started the season incredibly well, so we know at their best, they are a real threat, but we are also in a good vein of form and we need to continue that from now until the end of the season.

“Mansfield showed early season the quality that they have in their group. They have got a few injuries, the main one being Lee Gregory, who has been a fantastic player at this level and higher in his career, where he scored goals, and he will be a big loss for them, but they have replaced that with Jordan Rhodes.

“They have got Will Evans, who is a fantastic striker, so we know the threat that they pose, but we also know that we are playing extremely well and we have to continue that form and those results in the short-term and obviously right on until the end of the season.”

City’s win on Saturday extended their unbeaten run to three matches and they have conceded just the one goal in that time. A new-look back three of Alex Hartridge, Angus MacDonald and Ed Turns has also formed and looks impressive, with clean sheets in both games that the three centre back s have played so far.

With Joe Whitworth a constant behind them in goal, City’s defensive issues finally appear to be over with Caldwell persisting with this back three and he insists it is no coincidence that sold defensive performances have come as a result of that defensive consistency.

“I think it’s massive,” Caldwell said. “I think we found when we had injuries and lost Tristan (Crama) that the continuity in selection and the understanding between players in defence is so important and such a foundation for your performance and how you can go and win games.

“When we didn’t have that, we struggled and now we have that back, then it’s no co-incidence that we’re starting to get better results, so long may that continue.

“It’s been a lot of hard work on the training pitch and I think the players deserve a lot of credit for how they have developed partnerships and found a way to get clean sheets and win games, so we can keep building on that, especially the back three. They have got two clean sheets, so it’s a pretty good start.

“They need to keep that going and hopefully they can get even better with more work on the training pitch and more games played together.”

With captain Pierce Sweeney getting ever closer to a return, then City certainly have plenty of options available and the numbers and quality to keep those in possession of the short on their toes.

Kevin McDonald is also back in training and with the likes of Ilmari Niskanen, Jake Richards and Andrew Oluwabori fit but not even making selection right now, it highlights the welcome ‘managers’ headache’ Caldwell has in choosing who starts, who his finishers are and who to leave out.