Exeter City have confirmed the return of Matt Taylor as first-team manager, appointed until the end of the season.
He replaces Dan Green, who had been in interim charge following Gary Caldwell’s departure on February 16, with the club stating the decision was made by the board in consultation with the football management team. Taylor will take charge immediately, starting with Tuesday night’s home match against Burton Albion, and will be supported by Green and Kevin Nicholson.
Interim board chair Laurence Overend framed the move as a low-disruption appointment, pointing to Taylor’s knowledge of the club and its operating model.
“We are delighted to welcome Matt back to the Club,” Overend said. “He is someone who knows Exeter City exceptionally well and understands the Club’s culture, values and ambitions, as well as the realities of the league and our model.”
He added that the board felt Taylor’s return would “minimise the amount of upheaval and change for the squad, giving the players the confidence to finish the season positively”, while also thanking Green and Nicholson for their “continued commitment and support”.
Taylor, who previously managed City from 2018 and led promotion to League One in 2022, said the role carries clear emotional pull.
“I’m extremely pleased to return to Exeter City,” he said. “This Club and its supporters have always held a special place in my heart, and it is somewhere where I spent 10 amazing years, first as a player and then as manager.”
He added: “The supporters are like no other, and I’m looking forward to getting to know our players and staff and leading the team as we step out onto the pitch at St James Park tonight for the match against Burton Albion.”
Opinion
This is the sort of appointment that feels sensible in the moment, but it is not without risk. Exeter have clearly opted for familiarity and stability, and that can be a comfort when the season is wobbling, yet comfort is not the same as progress. Bringing Taylor back on a short-term deal reads as a decision designed to steady hands rather than reset direction, and that is fine, as long as everyone is honest about what it is.
The first potential negative is what it quietly says about the last fortnight. The club twice positioned Green as the interim option, then pivoted. Even if the internal plan always included a more experienced figure, the optics are messy. It invites questions about how decisions are being made, how quickly they are being revisited, and whether the leadership structure is as joined-up as it needs to be with a pivotal summer on the horizon.
Then there is the football. Taylor’s previous Exeter side delivered results and an identity, but it could also be functional, risk-averse and, at times, hard work. If the priority is pure survival, pragmatism is defensible. But if the mood around the club is already fragile, grinding out points without any sense of momentum can still leave an atmosphere that feels tense and reactive.
Finally, there is the timeline trap. “Until the end of the season” sounds neat, but it can blur accountability. If results improve, there will be immediate pressure to extend. If they do not, the club is back where it started, only later, with fewer options and less time.
Either way, this has to be more than a nostalgic homecoming. It needs to be the start of a clearer, better-communicated plan than the one we have seen over the past few weeks. Hopefully, that won’t start until after next Tuesday.
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