Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale registers himself as player after squad was decimated by sickness

Paul Tisdale added himself as a player to make sure Exeter had enough players

Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale has registered himself as a player for his team’s opening League Two match today against Portsmouth, after his squad was ravaged by a sickness that left them short of numbers.

Tisdale named himself to make sure the club was not short of bodies if needed, as only Pat Baldwin, Scot Bennett and Liam Sercombe were able to make the team from a list of doubtful players which included them alongwith Danny Butterfield, Arron Davies and David Wheeler, while Jordan Moore-Taylor was out with a broken foot. Both Bennett and Sercombe had to pass last-minute fitness tests.

Tisdale said this to BBC Sport: "It's always a difficulty when you've got players who are ill. You never quite know if they're going to be 100% or not when it comes to the full-blown match tempo on a Saturday afternoon. Hopefully I won't have to put my boots on, but we'll have to see how many people are available."