Exeter City have reappointed former boss Matt Taylor on a deal until the end of the season.
The Grecians had been left without a manager since Gary Caldwell departed for Wigan Athletic last month.
Return
Taylor represented the south-west outfit as both a player and manager, spending four years at St James Park as Exeter returned to the Football League. He added another promotion to his CV as a manager, finally guiding the club into League One after some near misses in the play-offs.
Months after managing his first game in the third tier, he left the Devon outfit for Rotherham United. Keeping the Millers in the Championship was an impressive achievement, but he was soon sacked, 13 months after taking over in South Yorkshire. The 44-year-old returned to the south-west of England with Bristol Rovers, lasting just over a year before being dismissed in December 2024.
After his appointment this lunchtime, Taylor spoke about his pleasure in taking the hot seat at St James Park once again.
“I’m extremely pleased to return to Exeter City. This Club and its supporters have always held a special place in my heart, and it is somewhere where I spent 10 amazing years, first as a player and then as manager.
“The supporters are like no other, and I’m looking forward to getting to know our players and staff and leading the team as we step out onto the pitch at St James Park tonight for the match against Burton Albion.”
Straight Into Battle
As Taylor mentioned, the Grecians are back in action this evening, in a pivotal clash at the bottom of League One. Exeter remain at risk of being dragged back into a relegation dogfight, having failed to win their last seven matches in the third tier. It’s interesting to note that, while this recent run is in part due to the rumours around Caldwell’s future, it also followed their thrashing by Manchester City in the FA Cup.
Last season, Salford City suffered the same fate when their season capitulated after losing 8-0 to the Premier League giants. The Ammies dropped out of promotion contention and missed out on a play-off place, despite a brief revival at the end of the campaign. While Exeter recorded successive victories over Stevenage and Port Vale in the aftermath of conceding double-figures against the Citizens, their last three-point haul came against the division’s bottom side in January.
Four draws in February make up a considerable chunk of the winless streak. After a respectable point at Mansfield Town, Jayden Wareham’s eight-minute hat-trick couldn’t inspire the Grecians to victory at Peterborough United. Bolton Wanderers put them to the sword on Saturday afternoon, recording a four-goal winning margin on a weekend where the two sides above them in the table replicated that feat.
Despite that run, Exeter are still five points above the relegation places, and six clubs would need to overhaul them for Taylor’s side to drop into the bottom four. Burton would climb above them with victory at St James Park this evening, while three points for the incoming manager would solidify the Grecians’ position in League One.
