Bentley to face fellow long-serving boss Tisdale

Two of England's longest serving managers come head to head on Saturday when Jim Bentley welcomes Paul Tisdale and his Exeter side to the Globe Arena.
Jim Bentley. Picture: B&O PRESS PHOTOJim Bentley. Picture: B&O PRESS PHOTO
Jim Bentley. Picture: B&O PRESS PHOTO

In an ironic twist of fate the two do battle in the same week that Karl Robinson and Paul Hurst, the only two Football League managers with longer service than Morecambe boss Bentley, left their posts at MK Dons and Grimsby Town respectively.

Tisdale has been Exeter’s chief for 10 years and is second in the list of longest serving bosses behind Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger who earlier this month celebrated his 20th anniversary with the Gunners, with Bentley third with almost five and a half years in charge of the Shrimps.

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Bentley, who was linked with the Shrewsbury job that Hurst accepted this week, said: “It is a bit ironic I must admit and perhaps even more ironic that we play Wycombe and Crewe soon who have the fourth and fifth longest serving managers too in a few weeks as well.

“I think it shows that we are all at clubs who have done things the right way over the years, sometimes in difficult circumstances and looked for a consistent approach.

“Looking at Paul Tisdale he has done a great job over the years and I always admire the way his teams always try to play football too.

“They haven’t had the best of seasons so far but, like us, their away form has been excellent and they will be tough opponents on Saturday.

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“They scored four against Barnet last week and have a threat up front so we need to make sure we are at our best.”

The Grecians are currently second from bottom of League Two, five points clear of basement boys Newport County.

After five successive home defeats, a new club record, the Shrimps are looking for a much-needed victory at the Globe Arena.

With form on the road impressive Bentley has even suggested using a hotel for home games as his side bid to put recent poor results behind them.

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He said: “It’s so frustrating for me that we can turn in decent performances away from home and to have gone six games without defeat away from the Globe but a performance like the one against Stevenage (a 2-0 defeat) two weeks ago wasn’t acceptable.

“We didn’t get much luck in that game and I don’t think all our performances have been bad but the results have been and we need to find the right formula to get back to winning ways and give our fans something to cheer about.

“We are all desperate for a result at home and we will be working hard this week to get things right.”