Reece Cole hopes to put frustration of injuries behind him

THIS campaign has been one of frustration for Exeter City’s Reece Cole, but the midfield playmaker is hoping his early season issues are behind him as he tries to cement a place in the Grecians’ starting XI.

After penning a contract extension in the summer and coming through a tough pre-season, the 26-year-old looked like being a key figure for the Grecians this season, starting their first four matches of the season.

However, Cole was playing despite an injury which was then incorrectly diagnosed leading to a longer spell on the sidelines than he would have wanted. Now, with his rehab done, Cole is determined to make up for lost time and play his part in what the Grecians hope will be a special season.

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“It wasn’t a great start for me personally and it has been disappointing for me considering I was available for most of the season last season,” Cole said. “But looking on from the sides, it has been a positive watching the boys win games and get us up the table. Hopefully I can come in and help the boys out soon.”

Cole made his return after a month out in the defeat at Huddersfield and another outing from the bench followed before he was named in the starting XI for the 5-3 FA Cup first round win over Barnet. By his own admission, Cole struggled, but he is delighted to be back and in contention for selection.

“It’s all good,” the former Brentford youngster said of his injury. “I am still feeling it a little bit, so I am not 100 per-cent and the game against Barnet wasn’t my best performance. It was nice to get 60 minutes and I felt that it was a good 60 minutes for me, albeit the performance wasn’t to the levels that I hold myself accountable for.

“It was good to get the cobwebs off and get that blow into me which is what I needed. Hopefully now, I can really push on and try and get back in that starting XI.

“I just want to play. It doesn’t matter what the game is, we had a really strong side out against Bristol Rovers in the Trophy and those games are perfect – like the Gaffer said before the game: ‘you have to fight for your shirt on a Saturday’ so you have to do something that makes him think you should be playing.

“Hopefully we can all push each other in those games to try and push for a place in the starting XI.”

No sooner had Cole returned than he was forced to miss the 1-0 win over Charlton Athletic with a sickness bug spreading through the City ranks. He should be back for the clash with Lincoln – and how City will need him with now three players unavailable due to international commitments.

The Imps, currently fourth, will be no pushover though and with just four points separating Barnsley in fourth and Peterborough United in 12th, it shows just how tight the league is this year.

“We have some really big games to look forward to and I think it will be great for us,” Cole said. “No one in the changing room is worried about those teams, we know what we are capable of and, hopefully, we can take the points off them.

“I think it is a really open league this year. Birmingham, with their budget and things like that mean they stand out a lot, but it is 11 v 11 on the day and we just go out there and try to be better than them. If the majority of us are better than them then hopefully we will come away with those three points.

“Everyone is beating everyone and hopefully, that stays the case. If we can keep winning and everyone is taking points off each other than that can only be a good thing, but we are only focused on ourselves. No one else matters at this point, we are doing all we can do in every game and take it from there.”

However, it is not just in the league that City – through to the knock-out stage of the EFL Trophy and second round of the FA Cup – are looking to fare well.

“We looked at what happened last year and obviously the Gaffer has a much stronger squad this year and that has shown with the teams he has played and I think we have a great chance to get to Wembley,” Cole said.

“I don’t think many of the boys in the changing room have been to Wembley and I think we have a great opportunity to really push on and show everyone what we can do.

“With the league, we know what our targets are and the Cup games are an added bonus. If we keep winning them, then we just keep looking at the next game, we don’t look at the end goal, we are always looking next game and that’s what it will be throughout the three tournaments we are still in.”