Exeter City able to ‘sell the dream’ and be attractive option for signings

Exeter City boss Gary Caldwell has said he is confident he can bring in the talent he wants to St James Park this summer. The Grecians manager admitted that patience will be key in order to get deals over the line and that they may not happen instantly, but that he can and has sold the club to top targets.

Demetri Mitchell, Will Aimson, Kevin McDonald, James Scott, Gary Woods and Joe White all arrived in January to Devon, the latter on loan, having been convinced by the Scot that their future lay with City. Those names were among his top targets that he wished to bring into the club in what was his first transfer window.

City though have traditionally found it hard to bring in everyone that they wanted. Last summer then boss Matt Taylor regularly was left frustrated but hopes of deals failing to materialise due to the wage demands of those players concerned, or concerns over relocating their families down to Devon.

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While Caldwell admits that the geographical situation City have to contend with is always going to be a challenge, he is confident that the positives of both living in Devon, and also what the Grecians can offer on the pitch can outweigh the negatives and that players will be convinced to join the project.

“In my experience it is about what I would expect,” he said, when asked how difficult it has been made to get deals done. “You have to meet the player, sell the player a dream, let them know what you are doing, show them the football club, and the training ground is a huge help in that, as we can show them a modern training ground where they can see what we are trying to do in development and improving individuals.

“We can bring them to the ground and they see a good environment to play home games. To sell the club, it is easy because of what we have.

“The geography, I’m not good on. But if you want to come and play football and you want to come to a club which is pushing in the right direction and trying to build something, this is a fantastic club to come to, and it has been fairly easy so far to get them to say yes.”