“We have good people and players who should be hurting and I want to see a big reaction at Charlton.”
When Exeter City travels to Charlton Athletic on Tuesday night, boss Gary Caldwell wants a response from his team. On Saturday, the Grecians suffered a discouraging 2-0 home loss to struggling Northampton Town because they were much off the pace and performing below expectations.
At St James Park, City struggled to generate any noteworthy attacking opportunities and appeared to be lacking in offensive bite. They were too frequently exposed defensively, and Vil Sinisalo’s performance in goal was the only thing that kept the score at two.
Injuries and suspensions have hit City this season – Demetri Mitchell was unavailable at the weekend after his sending off in the Carabao Cup win over Luton Town. But Caldwell said that it wasn’t an excuse for the poor performance and that those who have come into the side need to up their game – and it will be a ‘difficult team’ to pick as no-one put their hand up to demand selection.
“I would like to see a reaction,” Caldwell said, following the defeat on Saturday. “We have good people and players who should be hurting and I want to see a big reaction at Charlton.
“But it will be a difficult team to pick as every player apart from Vil, Zak Jules first half, KT had moments, but not a lot of players come out with credit, so everyone has to be ready, and we have to pick a team that was much more ready than today.
“It was an opportunity for other players to come in and take it and too often they have not been ready. We will need everyone to be successful in three competitions and when the opportunities are coming, the players are not taking them. It will be a team we have to get right and today we didn’t get the right team on the pitch to win the game so we have to look at ourselves.”
Defender Alex Hartridge added: “This will be a chance to put it right. We will have a reaction.”
After losing against the Cobblers, City dropped out of the top six and to ninth place in the standings. After a promising beginning, the league record currently reads three losses in the previous four games. With just three victories this year and 11 points from nine games, the Addicks are currently ranked 15th in League One. But they have four league games remaining unbeaten.
Exeter will have Mitchell back from suspension and will almost certainly come back into the starting eleven. Jack Aitchison also returned from his hernia injury at the weekend for a late cameo off the bench and so could be involved from the off, while Caleb Watts is also likely to return. But it is unlikely that any of the rest of the band of players on the treatment table will be fit enough to feature.
City’s increasingly hectic fixture list – progress in the Carabao Cup means that they will have six Tuesday night games in seven weeks – could also see some rest and rotation, with the likes of Harry Kite, James Scott and Jack Fitzwater all potentially returning to the starting line-up.
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