Exeter manager Gary Caldwell admits he is looking forward to an international break after witnessing his side’s 3-0 defeat at Fleetwood.
The visitors shipped three goals in a disastrous first half, never really looked like salvaging anything from their long trip north and left the field to a chorus of boos from their travelling fans.
Caldwell held his hands up and is prepared to carry the can for his team, who have not tasted victory in Sky Bet League One since mid-September.
“We gave ourselves a mountain to climb and although we improved in the second half we were 3-0 down so that was the least you’d expect,” he said. “There’s a lot of work to do and we need to stand up and be counted, but at this moment in time we’re not doing that.
“Ultimately I pick the team and I have to take responsibility for that. We have a bit of respite now with the international break and we can do a lot of work on the training ground because so many things need to be better.
“I understand that the fans are frustrated, we’re all frustrated. They come a long way to watch us and in the first half that wasn’t good enough. They are well within their rights to boo and criticise and we all have to work hard on the training pitch to change that momentum at the moment.
“The window doesn’t open until January and then we will look at it so we have to work with the players we’ve got, and they were fantastic early season.
“We have a few injuries that we have to get back but as individuals we have to look at ourselves and be better.”
Fleetwood boss Lee Johnson admitted things could hardly have gone better for his team in that first period, when Ryan Broom, Brendan Wiredu and Phoenix Patterson all found the net.
Patterson’s strike came after he had been sent tumbling in the box by Pierce Sweeney, referee Thomas Kirk awarding a free-kick just outside.
Patterson sent it perfectly into the near corner, leaving Johnson delighted with his young winger.
“Phoenix has been on it for the last two or three weeks,” he said. “He’s had to ‘unlearn’ some things, I wasn’t fully happy with his application, not in terms of his effort, work rate and professionalism, but his attitude to turn and drive at people, and I say that lovingly because I know how good he is.
“He’s got a great centre of gravity, a great end product and a little shift of pace and dynamism in the final third and he’s got real quality. If he was timid like I’d seen earlier in my tenure it wasn’t enough, but he’s deserved his chance and he’s taken it, he’s been excellent.
“It was a very satisfying win, I thought the first half in particular was excellent, we had a 15-minute spell where we stopped working hard early enough but we could have been 5-0 up at half-time, I think that would have probably been a fair assessment of the first half.
“Key for us is that we know what good looks like now and we know when we’re not playing well what that looks like as well and that allows the players to self-coach and manage each other, so I was really pleased to see that. It’s a really positive sign for us.
“As a general rule we feel like we’re going in the right direction.”
Shaw reveals how advice from former Man City stalwarts Bronze, Sterling assisted her to settle at the club
After struggling to find her footing when she just arrived at Manchester City, Jamaica international Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw, revealed that it was the advice of Lucy Bronze and Raheem Sterling, coupled with hard work, that assisted in her now being the club's record goalscorer.
Since her transfer from Bordeaux in 2021, Shaw has cemented her status as one of the game’s most clinical strikers during her spell with Gareth Taylor's side so far. In the process, she smashed a number of records, including most goals scored by a Manchester City women’s player in a single season -31 in the 2022-23 campaign -before becoming the club's all-time leading goalscorer with 72 goals overall.
However, she wasn't always confident that she would have accomplished those feats, as she pointed out how guidance from former Manchester City pair Bronze and Sterling put her on the path to history in sky blue, after a difficult early period at the Joie Stadium.
“When I came here initially, I was struggling a bit,” Shaw revealed on The Women's Game Podcast with Sam Mewis.
“One day I was coming in from training and Lucy [Bronze] was coming in as well and she asked, ‘are you okay?’ and I said ‘I just can’t get the way they play, I can’t get it right’. City play a specific type of way and I was saying when we were walking in from training ‘I cannot get this right’. I didn’t know if here was for me.
“She started laughing and she was like ‘you focus on what got you here, the bits you do well that got you here, there’s something they saw in you that got you here’. At that moment I was like ‘wow’. I then called Raheem [Sterling] and I said the same thing to him. He was just laughing and said, ‘when I came from Liverpool I struggled a bit, they play a certain way so trust the process, believe in what you’re doing and believe in yourself’," she added.
From there, the 26-year-old Shaw said she continued to put in the work, both on and off the field until her performances came together.
“I put the comments from both Lucy and Raheem together and it made sense. I told myself to continue working and watching the videos, see how I could improve my game and seeing how best I can help the team. By doing that, it helped a little better day-by-day. Couple of weeks later I called Raheem and said, ‘it’s working!’ He was laughing and said, ‘I told you, you’ve just got to believe in yourself and do all the right things and focus on you first and foremost before you can focus on anything else’," Shaw shared.
Although her 2023/24 campaign was cut short due to a broken foot, Shaw will finish the campaign with 22 goals and five assists. And she credits her sparkling City success to her dedication on the City Football Academy training pitch.
“I just kept at it and believing in myself. The confidence comes from scoring goals and as the games come, I’m thriving," she ended.
Girona 4-2 Barcelona: Hosts secure Champions League football while ending Blaugrana's title hopes
Girona beat Barcelona 4-2 to secure Champions League qualification and gift Real Madrid their 36th LaLiga title.
Madrid, who have lost only once in the league this season, hold a 13-point advantage over second-placed Girona, while Barca dropped to third after Saturday's loss.
The victory saw Girona seal European football for the first time in their history.
A brace from substitute Portu helped LaLiga's surprise package Girona to humble their Catalan rivals.
Andreas Christiansen scored in the third minute to give Barca the lead but Girona hit back a minute later, with LaLiga's top scorer Artem Dovbyk heading in the equaliser.
Robert Lewandowski put the visitors back ahead from the penalty spot just before the break.
However, in his first action after coming off the bench, Portu restored parity before Miguel Gutierrez scored from a rebound two minutes later to turn the match on its head.
And that paved the way for a stunning volley from Portu in the 74th minute to secure the win.
Real Madrid's LaLiga joy must be 'contained' ahead of Bayern meeting
Carlo Ancelotti knows Real Madrid's LaLiga title celebrations must be "contained" as they prepare to take on Bayern Munich.
Madrid were crowned LaLiga champions for a record-extending 36th time on Saturday, after Barcelona lost 4-2 to Girona.
The Blaugrana's defeat followed on from Madrid beating Cadiz 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Brahim Diaz, Jude Bellingham and Joselu were on target for Los Blancos, whose coach Ancelotti knows restraint is needed in his team's celebrations, with the Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern coming up on Wednesday.
"It's obviously a contained joy, because the most important game of the season is also very close, but we have to be happy," Ancelotti told Movistar Plus+ before the Barca game had been played.
"These games are difficult to prepare for, because you have Wednesday on your mind. But so far it's been spectacular, our team was steady, with hardly any mistakes. The advantage we have is well deserved.
"A big part [of Madrid's success] was achieved when we started to defend better, with a collective commitment.
"The effort put by the players up front was great, but the injuries early in the season helped us to realise that it wasn't about individuals but putting on a collective effort, and we did great."
Speaking to reporters in the mixed zone, Ancelotti said: "We are very good. It is the seventh victory in a row in the League, a spectacular one as a whole.
"We are very close to winning it and I think we are going to do it with merit.
"It is a celebration taking into account what has to happen on Wednesday. We are all happy with the match, but let's think about Bayern."
Thibaut Courtois, meanwhile, returned from his long injury lay-off to feature for the first time this season.
Ancelotti added: "Thibaut is a very important piece for this team, although [Andriy] Lunin has had a spectacular season and that is a lot of credit to Andriy. But Courtois has returned very well and was decisive. He is doing very well."
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