Exeter City have today announced that Paul Tisdale will leave the club having opted against signing a new deal at St James Park.
It is an interesting move for the Grecians boss, who spoke at length about his future after Monday’s play-off final defeat to Coventry City, with his two-year rolling contract coming to an end in November.
Tisdale said it was not just him he needed to think about in his decision, stating: “I have to think about everyone else, I’m not just thinking about myself all the time, there’s players that committed to me as well as Exeter, and my colleagues and it’s been something we’ve built over a long period of time and we care very much about how we do things.”
Every player at Exeter City is one that Tisdale brought to the club, so it will be interesting to see if his departure has a knock-on effect on any player’s future at St James Park.
The club are yet to announce their retained list, although Tisdale spoke earlier in the season about how he had already been planning for the next campaign, suggesting that a lot of players are under contract already.
Yet, if other clubs come calling, could some players opt to leave now that the manager who brought them to City has?
One way for the Grecians to circumnavigate this potential issue, of course, is by appointing from within, from the likes of Matt Taylor and Matt Oakley in their coaching staff.
If Tisdale, as expected, goes to MK Dons, he will have a large budget at his disposal and could well be tempted to make a move for the players who served him well at City. Jayden Stockley, for example, has a strong relationship with the City boss.
The likes of Jake Taylor, Jordan Moore-Taylor and Christy Pym should all interest higher-level clubs and, with City set to have a new manager, they could well view this as a time to move on.
With City having had a successful season, and the likes of Pierce Sweeney putting in consistent performances, other clubs could also view this as a chance to pounce and make the most of the lack of certainty over what happens next at the Grecians.
Whatever happens, with Steve Perryman also opting to retire as director of football, it is set to be a summer of change at St James Park.