Exeter City 'harsh words' thrown around with 'honest conversations' needed

Exeter City skipper Pierce Sweeney said that there were harsh words thrown around in the Grecians’ dressing room as they were beaten 2-1 at St James Park by Barnsley. City were 1-0 at half-time through Josh Magennis’ strike, but two early goals in the second half saw them slip to defeat.

City had deservedly been ahead at the break and had the chances to have extended their lead. But the Grecians staff and players were not happy with the performance, clearly judging by the half-time discussions.

Whether they had a positive impact is up for debate, given Exeter started the second half poorly as the Tykes got their two goals in the first 15 minutes. Firstly Kelechi Nwakali drilled home a thunderous strike moments into the second half after City failed to clear their lines. And just before the hour, Barnsley turned it around and took the lead when Davis Keillor-Dunn got on the end of a cross to win it.

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“It was a frustrating and disappointing afternoon,” Sweeney said. “The first half wasn’t pretty, but we went 1-0 up, scored a really good goal through the big man and we had a couple of half-chances as well. But we never got going after half-time and it was two poor goals conceded.

“We need to clear our lines better, clear our box, and we let ourselves down today. We need to sit down and have some good, honest, grown-up conversations.

“I can’t really say what was said at half-time. There were a few harsh words said, rightly so. There was a lot of swearing, a lot of shouting from the manager, from players, player-on-player, so we were 1-0 up at half-time and still not happy with how we are playing and how things are going.”

“We set high standards in the changing room and at the football club between the staff and the players and it felt like we weren’t up to our standard in performance, in possession and out of possession especially.

“We need to figure out where we are at and be honest with ourselves because we have been nowhere near good enough in the last four or five league games."

City's players are off to London tonight for their Christmas Party, and Sweeney added: “The manager told us to spend time together and tell each other what we really feel and I’m sure we’ll do that and have some serious conversations. We played ok but we didn’t recognize where the danger was, but we will regroup. This is no time to sulk and moan.We need to regroup quickly and fly into Burton next week, for another big game and busy run.”

“There were some harsh words among players and staff at half time,” manager Gary Caldwell also said. “When we are not doing what we know we can do, we have to react in a positive way and we don't do it in some ways. This is the time where we need to look at ourselves and how we can be better at this moment shooting ourselves in the foot.”

Asked whether the harsh words at the break had a positive impact, Caldwell said: “It probably didn’t help but we have to discuss that and to do what is needed. Do we need emotion, or too much a demand?

“We set ourselves some goals, and if we set big goals, we have to set accountable to standards and too often recently we have fallen below the standards.”

City’s defeat dropped down to 15 ^th in the League One table. It is just one win in eight in all competitions and no wins in six in the league. Barnsley’s win ended a six game run for them without one as they rose to seventh.

In League One, the Grecians have only won just one of their last nine games – the 1-0 win over Charlton Athletic. City are now seven points off the play-offs, and just five points above the relegation.

Last season City went on their 100 day, 13 game, winless streak which ended on Boxing Day, prompting fears of a similar run this season. But Sweeney said that this poor run of form is nowhere near those levels, and fans need to stick with the club.

“If you were at any other football club, all sorts of stuff would be thrown at you, but our fans are fantastic home and away and come out in numbers,” he said. “You need to stick with us, we are a new team, and an awful lot of football to play, so please stick with us as we are working hard and it will click sooner rather than later.”