Case of the Ex

THIS weekend’s fixture at St James’ Park between Argyle and Exeter City is the 100th installment of the Devon Derby...

...and Pilgrims manager John Sheridan is hoping to mark the occasion with a win.

“I think we’ve just got to go into the game and concentrate,” said John. “It’s another game and it’s another game we want to try and win and get the three points from.

“Both teams are in and around the play-off area. It’s an important game, but we’ll go into it and concentrate on what we’ve been doing of late. We’ve had a really good response from the players - three clean sheets and nine points from nine, which is a good response from the run we’ve been on.

“We need to stay focused but, at the same time, we know the importance of the game.”

Since taking charge of Argyle in January 2013, John has experienced the Devon Derby four times, recording two wins and two defeats against the Grecians. The most recent encounter – on the first home game of this season – finished a comfortable 3-0 Argyle win, but the boss is wary of the threat Paul Tisdale’s side will pose this weekend.

“I thought we deserved the 3-0 result on the day, I thought we played very well,” Sheridan said. “But I remember last season when we played Exeter, we were in a similar position and going for the playoffs. We were 1-0 up at home and we ended up losing the game.

“But he [Tisdale] is a good manager, he’s been around. He’s young but very experienced. The good thing about is his teams play well; they’re attractive and good on the eye so we’ve got to make sure they don’t get a foothold in the game.

“They’ll try and pass it and try and move us around but we have our strengths so, hopefully, we can affect the game which won’t enable them to play their normal game.

“We’ve beat them once and we’re going to try and win this game. I’m not going to try and draw, or be happy with a point or whatever, I am really going to try and win the game. We’re going to try and get at them, but I totally respect them, they’re a good side on their day. Like any team in this division, you’ve got to be wary of them.”