Exeter City have to keep good run going against bottom side Cambridge United

The U’s arrive in Devon bottom of League One with just one point from their first eight league games,

GARY Caldwell knows only too well that bad results and the bare statistics do not necessarily mean a team is not playing well. And that is the warning he has given to his Exeter City players ahead of today’s clash with Cambridge United.

The U’s arrive in Devon bottom of League One with just one point from their first eight league games, while they were just seconds away from a second point of the season in midweek before former Grecians striker Sam Nombe struck in injury time to earn Rotherham United a 1-0 win at the Abbey Stadium.

Things might not be going Cambridge’s way right now, but they can change quickly – as Caldwell and City found out themselves last season. In fact, it was this time last year that, after such an excellent start, City went on a 14-match sequence in League One in which they failed to win a single game. But they came through it and the rest, as they say, is history.

“It will be a really difficult game,” Caldwell warned. “I think we know at this level, no matter where you are in the league, every team is dangerous and every team can beat you. I think we found ourselves last year that in a difficult run, it doesn’t make you a bad team. It means you’re in a difficult moment and it can only take one victory to change your season, which we had last year.

“We know that where they are in the league is something we have to guard against and we know they’re a very good team when they get it right and we hope it’s not this weekend.

“We have to make sure we are at our very best to win the game because on Tuesday night, I saw a team against Rotherham that was really competitive, could have easily won the game and lost the game really late. That sometimes can happen to you in football, so we have to be ready for a huge test on Saturday.”

It would be no surprise to see Cambridge arrive in Devon and set up defensively leaving the onus very much on the Grecians to break them down and deal with the kind of gamesmanship associated with teams battling at the wrong end and in need of points.

From their point of view, though, City should be in confident mood with one defeat in the last seven matches, seven points from the last three league games and plenty of players in good nick. The concern, though, is how much the travel and back-to-back away games at Wigan and then Leyton Orient has taken out of them physically and mentally. And that’s where the supporters can play their part in lifting the team.

“We analyse every opponent, we respect every opponent, we adapt, we do what we need to do to win the game,” Caldwell said. “There will be certain things we need to do for Saturday to make sure we’re ready to win the game from a psychological point of view, but tactically, we always look at every team the same. We will assess their strengths and weaknesses and we’ll work on that to be ready to go and win the game, but I think this game, after a difficult week in terms of travel and picking up points, which is great, we have to refocus and that’s players, staff and supporters.

“We have to make sure that we bring energy to the stadium on Saturday because if we come up expecting to win then that’s when you come unstuck, so we have to be ready, and 100 per-cent committed from the stands on to the pitch to go and win the game.”