Exeter City Manager Caldwell Demands Improvement After Barnsley Defeat

Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell has stated his team “have to be better” following their 2-1 home loss to Barnsley, a result that means his side has secured only one League One victory in the last two months. The Grecians initially performed well, securing an early advantage courtesy of Josh Magennis. However, Barnsley subsequently gained control of the match, scoring two goals within 10 minutes after the half-time interval. This defeat marks Exeter’s eighth loss in their last nine League One fixtures, though all these winless games were against teams currently positioned in the top 10. Caldwell conveyed his disappointment to BBC Radio Devon, remarking, “It was a hugely disappointing result and after such a good start,” as the team’s standing in the league fell to 15th place. “We were in the game, we were playing really well, scored, created other chances where we could have probably been more in front and then just seemed to lose energy, sat off the game, allowed them to dominate territory.” “We even gave them too many times where they could pass the ball and get their head up to play forward, so we all have to look at ourselves and say ‘we have to be better’.” “I think it was a game that was there for us to go and win, and we’ve managed to find a way to lose it.” After falling behind 2-1, Caldwell implemented four substitutions in an attempt to alter the outcome, but these changes proved ineffective. He expressed frustration with his team’s performance, which he felt contributed to their defeat. “We have to be more aggressive and we have to run more than we’re running at the moment,” he added. “It’s a simple thing in football but if we’re not running, if you’re not getting pressure on the ball, if you’re not winning second balls, the game’s really hard and we made the game far too hard for ourselves.” “When we made the changes I thought we were better, I thought we controlled the game a bit more as well.” “I think passing the ball is a huge aspect to our game. If we keep passing the ball to the opposition then we’re never going to establish control in the game.” “So I thought we passed the ball better and finished the game better but by then we were chasing the game and it was too little too late.”