No discipline issue with Exeter coaches - Caldwell

Gary Caldwell is facing a second touchline ban of the season after his red card at Wycombe

Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell insists he and his coaches do not have a discipline problem despite being shown another red card on New Year's Day.

The Grecians boss was sent to the stands after a stoppage-time penalty was given against his team, which resulted in them losing 2-1 at Wycombe Wanderers.

It means Caldwell will be the subject of a second touchline ban this season after serving a similar suspension during last month's win at Burton Albion.

The dismissal also comes after Exeter coach David Perkins was fined £500 by the Football Association following his red card against Lincoln City in November.

Caldwell was unable to comment immediately after the game because managers who are sent off are not allowed to perform post-match media duties.

But he says referees must improve their decision-making in order to help alleviate the problem.

"We are fighting for this football club to win matches at a level that's really difficult - we don't need the referee to make it even harder, and if he does we have to fight our corner," Caldwell told BBC Radio Devon on Thursday morning.

"Too many times decisions are going against us. Yes, we're passionate, yes, we want to defend the football club, but we're not as bad as the cards would suggest.

"I've seen other benches far worse than us and they don't have the same record that we do. I think we are being treated like a small club at this level.

"I think too many times against bigger clubs it's easy to give the decisions the other way because they think 'it's Exeter City, there won't be much of a fuss, nobody will get on our backs' whereas if it's Wycombe, Huddersfield, Birmingham, at this level, there will be a big thing made of it.

"Too often we're the little guys that get hurt by it, and I have to stand up for my football club and stand up for what I believe is right."

Caldwell says an annual meeting between EFL managers and referees, which is compulsory to attend, is a "waste of time" as "nothing's changing".

He says rather than an annual get-together between officials and managers, referees should visit clubs where they could take part in training and address questions direct from players.

"I've asked the League Managers' Association, I've spoken to people about getting a referee to come into training during the week to referee our matches because, as coaches, to referee a game in training is a nightmare, the players are always on you," he said.

"So I've tried to get referees in, we've not got one in yet. They're not pro-actively looking for something like that.

"We want the referees to come in here, speak to us more, see training more, understand the game more, it's not happening.

"It's not something I can chase, I've got too much on my mind, but I have put that forward and it's not happened."