Grecians are up for the Cup, says Nicholson

A second half strike from substitute Caleb Watts proved the difference for the Grecians, who will now be looking to build on that success in their latest outing, an away trip to Walsall in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.

“It was a good start, lots of positives, but there is still plenty that we need to improve and get better at,” said Nicholson, City’s assistant manager. To get 7,400 in was incredible, especially at this time of year, and the atmosphere was spot on. I thought our lads gave the crowd plenty to cheer about, but we also gave Rotherham opportunities that we shouldn’t have from a game that - for the most part - I think we dominated.

“We created good chances that we need to do better with, especially if we’re going to challenge these teams with bigger resources, bigger budgets, etc. However, I thought as far as first day games go, it was a real positive one.”

Indeed it was for City, who last season enjoyed a decent run in the Carabao Cup, reaching the fourth round of the competition, as well as claiming the scalp of Premier League outfit Luton Town in the third round.

“The important thing now, like with every game, is never get too high and never get too low,” said Nicholson. “It's trusting in the process that we've been going through now for a little while and I think you saw glimpses of that on Saturday where we had a cohesion that comes about by keeping players in the building and continuing to work with them on that process day by day, session by session, week by week. As I said, there were lots of positives, but no one's getting carried away. It's one game. A lot can change as we know.”

For City, though, the next challenge is their Cup encounter with Walsall, a fixture that Nicholson says the club are looking forward to.

“It's brilliant because it's the next game,” he continued. “For us, we've now got a squad that's competitive, we've got guys that will be given an opportunity through necessity, so we'll get an opportunity because you know they've worked hard and they deserve that.

“We need to make sure that we go to Walsall, who had a good result themselves on the opening day, and we put our best foot forward. I think we've got a competitive strong squad of players that are fit and ready. We've got some young lads coming through desperate for an opportunity and this is a great game for us to go and show that we are what we say we are.

“We're a squad, we're a team and a big positive for me from Saturday was that everybody contributed. The finishers that came on, obviously Caleb scored the goal, Ben Purrington comes on for 10 minutes at the end, he's under huge amounts of pressure because they're going for it, yet he was calm, he was in control, he did what needed to be done and that's testament to a squad doing the right things. This will be another opportunity for everybody to show their value, their worth and that they're ready to go.”

Like City, Walsall started the new campaign with victory, defeating Morecambe at home thanks to a first half goal from Taylor Allen.

“They are a really good, solid, hard-working team who like to try and play, but they're not scared of mixing it up,” warned Nicholson. “They've got some good athletes in the team and they've got some pace where it matters. They’ve also got a nice mix of youth and experience, so it's a tough one.

“At this level, though, I’d expect nothing less. Most teams are coming off a pre-season they were feeling positive and confident about, so it's up to us to go there and impose ourselves. This is a game that we need to show what we're about.”

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