Stanley boss James Beattie is happy to take the pressure off his players ahead of tomorrow’s game with Exeter City.

Just nine points separate eleventh from 23rd in the League Two table and the Reds head to St James Park a point and two places behind their hosts.

But despite the distance three points could take the team, the manager feels it’s key to keep his players calm and collected.

“If I can conduct myself in front of the boys in a composed manner and show them that we’re always in control, which is what I have done since day one, I think that filters through to them,” he explained. “There is huge pressure at boardroom level – I get pressure from the Chairman and he obviously gets pressure from the board members but I think if you can remain calm and make the right decisions at the right time then that filters through to your team.

“The lads have done tremendously well and if I can keep these pressures away from them then I will have done quite a good job.

“I’m sorry to see people like Richie (Barker) lose his job at Portsmouth but I think it’s a common thing now in football, if people don’t see success straight away then these Chairmen make these decisions. Fortunately we don’t have a Chairman like that or maybe I’d be out of a job after the first 12 games we had! I think stability within a club is the way to go and perhaps we’re a prime example of a club that’s gone through bad times, kept faith with a manager and hopefully are now seeing the fruits of a long season.”

The Grecians won 3-2 at the Store First Stadium in December but have had a 2014 to forget with only recent wins over Fleetwood and Plymouth helping them climb the League Two table.

“St James Park is always a tough place to go,” continued Beattie. “I know Paul Tisdale and as people know I met him last year to discuss the possibility of maybe going down there. I know what Paul’s all about and what he was thinking for me at the time.

“They’ve come into a bit of form at the right time because they were really dropping down the league having made a really great start. They’ve just found a couple of results now just in time for us to go and visit them. Hopefully we can go down there and make another good account of ourselves. It makes for another good game.

“As we all know, the league’s very tight and maybe a couple of wins for us would’ve seen us jump up the table even more. The performances and the way the lads have conducted themselves has been second to none and for that I can only give them masses of praise.”