Managers Ahead of Hartlepool United v Exeter City

Tomorrow (Saturday 3rd May) is the final act for the Grecians of the 2013/14 season. While many will be relieved that it is all over, the team and many travelling supporters will still have 90 minutes of football to deal with.

Both teams are safe, so it looks like we’ll be seeing an experimental side for each team.

Exeter City’s manager Paul Tisdale has said:-

We’ll be going to the game relaxed and I may be a little creative with selection. There will be plenty of opportunities on Saturday for players that haven’t played much recently, and I’m very much looking forward to the game.

Reminiscing about the 4-0 defeat last season, Tisdale added:

Last year I played Scot Bennett in the centre-forward role at Chesterfield, which clearly amounted to something this year.  Whether I’ll be doing similar things over the course of the next 48 hours – we’ll see.  I’m really looking forward to it; it has a different slant to the average game.

As to the new youth, Tisdale said:

Ollie Watkins is a player that has been impressing. He is one of the young players that we have had who has shown a level of performance in training and youth games that would suggest he is worth looking at.

This is a perfect opportunity for someone like him to play a part in the game.  He’ll be travelling with us, but I have yet to decide in what capacity.

Jordan Tillson will also be travelling.  He did terrifically in the under-21s – but centre-half is such a high-risk position.  But he has played at such a level in training and for the under-21s that suggests he has got a future with us, and I’m very much looking forward to the point that he does get an opportunity.

Colin Cooper managed Hartlepool’s escape from relegation, but the last few months brought back some of the anxieties.  Speaking to the Hartlepool Club website, the manager has said:-

I think we owe it to everyone to keep the preparations the same as they every Friday.

We want to give our supporters something to go away feeling good about so there’ll be no deviation from what we normally do. Hopefully it will be good game with a competitive edge and both teams will really have a go to get the three points, and hopefully it’s us who gets them.

We’ve looked at Exeter who had a terrific result against Scunthorpe last week and they’ll be coming here with plenty of confidence. I have to be honest, I like the way Paul (Tisdale) goes about his business, the way he speaks and conducts himself so we’ll give them a warm welcome but hopefully send them home empty-handed.

Entry into Victoria Park will be just £5. Anyone who bought a ticket in advance can get a refund from the ticket office at Hartlepool.