“We will be treating it as just another game. But obviously I think we all know that the better you do in this competition, the bigger the opportunities.”

Exeter City midfielder Kyle Taylor said the squad will take plenty of confidence from their Carabao Cup performance against Middlesbrough on Tuesday night into the FA Cup tie against Wigan Athletic on Saturday. The Grecians more than matched the Championship outfit for large periods at St James Park before succumbing 3-2 to a late penalty.

The defeat continued what has been a pretty miserable October for City. They are winless in the last eight – seven of which have been defeats – and haven’t won a game since beating Premier League Luton Town over a month ago.

But after six defeats in League One in a row, the last two performances have been more encouraging. Exeter did enough to beat Lincoln City last weekend, but had to settle for a 1-1 draw, and came close to creating history in the Carabao Cup by reaching the last eight for the first time until the 81st minute winner.

Read More – Exeter City give Middlesbrough a scare but exit Carabao Cup

Read More – There is no disharmony in the Exeter City dressing room

Next up is Wigan, one of those teams who City did lose to in October.

The Latics somehow came away from St James Park with a 2-0 win, in a game that City had more than 30 shots on goal, battered them for long periods, and were hit with two sucker-punches on the break