Gary Caldwell: Exeter City boss says club is ready to boost squad in January
Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell says the club is well-prepared for the January transfer window as they aim to improve their options up front.
City are looking to add to their firepower after a tough run of results that has seen them fail to win a league game since mid-September.
Only two sides have scored fewer goals than City’s 12 goals in 16 games in League One this season.
Exeter’s board backed Caldwell in a statement on Wednesday.
“It does feel like compared to other windows we’re further ahead as a club, we’re more prepared and we’re ready to try and improve the squad when the window opens,” Caldwell told BBC Radio Devon.
“We’re pretty clear on what we need to bring in to the team to strengthen the squad, then it’s a case of speaking to agents, trying to meet up with players and speak to players and the openings that are available and try and find out about their characters and see if they’re going to fit into what we’re trying to do at the club.
“I feel like we’re on course, or even ahead of schedule, in terms of what we need to bring in and then we need to make sure that once the window opens we get the right players to help the squad for the season.”
Exeter have been hamstrung by injuries in the early part of the season, and they also sold last season’s top scorer Sam Nombe for a fee believed to be around £1m late in the summer transfer window.
City brought in Luton Town forward Admiral Muskwe on loan as a replacement, but injuries have hampered the 25-year-old who has yet to score a goal in eight appearances in all competitions.
Fellow striker James Scott has scored three times all season – twice in the first week – and Jack Aitchison has scored once.
But Caldwell says the decision to sell Nombe – whose contract was due to run out at the end of the season – was the right one for the club.
“We made it known that there might be some short term pain, which has probably been heightened because of the injuries that we’ve had,” Caldwell added.
“You can never predict injuries and I think you see across all of football at the moment injuries are a lot higher than they have been in recent years, so we have to take it on the chin.
“The ones we can control, we feel like we’re doing a good job of that, but we’ve been very unfortunate with contact injuries and others that have probably been highlighted even more by selling Nombs so late in the window.
“I still think it was the right thing to do, I still think the club is in a great position to strengthen in January and have a really successful season.”
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