Exeter City manager, Matt Taylor believes his team is “lacking a little bit of confidence” after a slow start to the 2026-27 season.
Taylor’s Grecians currently lie 21st in League Two and one point above the relegation zone after they took just one win, three draws and four losses from their opening eight league matches, with all six points having been amassed in their four home games so far.
During that run, they’ve scored only four goals and conceded six goals which has concerned Taylor as he addressed the lack of goals in his match preview on the club’s website of Saturday’s league match at home to Rotherham on 3 October at 3pm BST.
“We keep working on it and keep on reinforcing our attacking principles. And from a manager’s point of view I keep looking at options and opportunities and changes and players who maybe are lacking a little bit of confidence and a little bit form.
“That’s something which has now become an issue. Certainly once we get to a certain place on the pitch, it’s who really wants the ball, who really backs themselves to to contribute and make a difference in those moments. And that’s only happened in the last 5 or 6 games. But that’s on the back of the lack of goals at the start of the season.
“So it’s all natural. It’s all normal. Human instinct is an incredible thing and but a difficult thing to manage. So trying to pick and choose the right ones to come in and really affect it. We need brightness, we need energy, we need enthusiasm. And we also need a personality that says, I want that ball to be at my feet in those moments.”
Exeter though are yet to lose at home this season with one win and three draws which has left Taylor feeling that they’re capable of stronger results.
“We’d like to have had more wins in that run and that sequence of games, reflected Taylor on the lack of wins and has called for the players to turn their recent draws into wins at home.
“We certainly feel our home performances of deserve the better points return, but we have to win those games and we have to force the issue a little bit more than we have to.
“We are looking forward to getting back to our home comforts this weekend. We’re always well backed, well supported. The players feel comfortable at home. I think you can see that in the way they play and the way they take on the game, so hopefully it’s a good atmosphere.
“But as always, the the energy around the ground is dictated to by the players and our energy on the pitch, and that’s something which we’re we’re really determined to keep on putting out there in our home performances.”
Taylor also acknowledged Rotherham’s underperformance as the Millers lie 13th in the league on 10 points after relegation from League One this summer, but he feels that they’re still in a period of adaption like themselves.
“I think like a lot of teams they’re still trying to find their feet. They manage a lot of changes on the back of a relegation as well.
“They’ve obviously got some talent in their very athletic team, they move fantastically well and play in an aggressive style and aggressive nature. So I think they’ll get stronger as the season goes on. I think probably similar us, they have got a few absentees, whether that’s international or injury based as well.
“They’re probably not at their strongest right now. They have signed some fantastic experience at the top end of the pitch in Paul Mullin and Tom Bradshaw and a couple of senior bodies towards the back end as well.”