Exeter City: 'Bottom of the food chain' newcomers plot League One success
- Published
Exeter City sealed promotion from League Two with two games to spare, but a final-day loss at home to Port Vale cost them the chance to win the title
"We're probably bottom of the food chain, bottom of the pecking order in relation to bringing players to the football club at League One level," Exeter City boss Matt Taylor tells BBC Sport nine days before the start of the new season.
Having been promoted to League One last season, the fan-owned club are experiencing the hard facts of life as they prepare for their first season in the third tier in a decade.
Exeter, who will be one of the smallest sides in League One and up against more illustrious rivals including Sheffield Wednesday, Ipswich Town and Portsmouth, have added just two players to their squad - goalkeeper Jamal Blackman on a free transfer and Southampton youngster Kegs Chauke on a season-long loan.
With no rich benefactor to bankroll them, the club has to make ends meet from what they can earn on matchdays and money they can generate from transfers.
The club's academy has a proud tradition of earning the Grecians millions of pounds - they are still getting payments as part of sell-on clauses in England striker Ollie Watkins' £28m move to Aston Villa from Brentford two years ago, even though he last kicked a ball at St James Park in 2017.
"We've got to be inventive in terms of who we can bring in to the football club. I've said all along, players only come to us if they've got no realistic options elsewhere," the League Managers' Association's League Two Manager of the Year adds.
"In terms of competition, we are where we are, but we can't complain about it, we've just got to understand it and find some more gems, which we did this time last season."
'Us players all back ourselves to play in League One'
Matt Jay scored the goal that secured Exeter's promotion three months ago
Patience is a virtue all Exeter supporters have in bucket loads - raw players come through their academy and over time have the rough edges polished off before being sold on for decent fees that fund the next generation.
But while City have not significantly added to their squad, they have not lost any key players either. Captain and top-scorer Matt Jay, highly rated defender Josh Key and impressive midfielders Archie Collins and Tim Dieng are all still at the Devon club and relishing the challenge.
"Us players all back ourselves to play in League One," says Jay.
The 26-year-old is the poster boy for Exeter's patience. As a technically gifted but slightly-built youngster, he made his debut in 2013. But it was not until the 2020-21 season that he became a regular starter after what Taylor described as a commitment to a training programme during the Covid-19 lockdown of 2020.
Other clubs would have let Jay go long before he hit form, but Exeter's patience has been rewarded. In the past two seasons he has scored 36 goals in 99 appearances and become a huge asset both as a leader and also as a potential transfer target for other sides.
"There's no secret that Matt (Taylor) and the backroom staff are doing all they can to get players in, and we will definitely need a few," adds Jay.
"But I think it shows that last year we were one of the best teams in League Two, and therefore why can't we be a good team in League One?
"Us as players are really excited, and we really hope that we can do the best that we can."
Tim Dieng has played more than 250 games across Leagues One and Two for four clubs
While the club's homegrown players have yet to play in League One, there is experience of higher levels in the squad.
Midfielder Dieng has played in League One for Bradford City, Oldham Athletic and Scunthorpe United.
He could perhaps have been put into Taylor's bracket of players with "no realistic options elsewhere" a year ago when he joined Exeter on a free transfer.
The Frenchman had just suffered back-to-back relegations with Southend United as the Shrimpers slipped from the third tier to the National League, but Taylor put his faith in him and it was paid back with interest.
The 30-year-old scored 14 goals in 47 appearances in all competitions, earning rave reviews that saw him become the only Exeter player named in the EFL's League Two Team of the Season - despite the club finishing in second place.
"We have a few in the team that have experience in League One, so it's our job to let the other players know what the difference is from League Two," Dieng explains to BBC Sport.
"The quality in League One is higher, you've got better players, faster, stronger and the teams are a bit more organised.
"There's bigger teams with more money, so they attract better players.
"It is a different level, but I don't think we are far from that level. I think we have that level and we're ready for League One, I think we've got enough quality to have a good season."
'It's my job to make this team competitive'
Former Exeter City captain Matt Taylor is about to start his fifth season in charge having moved up from running the club's under-23 side in June 2018
So what would constitute a good season?
Exeter's last stint in League One lasted three seasons. Their first saw them secure survival on the final day when Taylor, then a player, scored the equaliser as Exeter went on to beat Huddersfield Town 2-1, external at St James Park.
They were a point off the play-off places a year on in what proved to be their best-ever season as they finished eighth, before going down 12 months later.
"It's my job to make this team competitive in League One," says Taylor.
"I'm sure they will be, I'm sure there's a lot of players who'll surprise some people this season. There's some players who'll struggle at the level, the natural step up, and there's some who won't be on people's radar just yet.
"Everything is another level to what we are, but there's a lot of players that have got the potential to play at League One consistently, whether that's with us or other clubs, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how some of them perform," he adds.
"We won't be overawed, there'll be times we get beaten, there'll be times we'll win games of football and it'll be a historic win, but we've got to stay as level as we possibly can and enjoy the season that we worked so hard to achieve."