Exeter City prepare for life back in League One after a decade of hurt

• Watch Jacquie Bird's report

Exeter City are preparing for life back in League One after 10 years away.

The Grecians secured promotion with their second place finish in League Two last season, and get their campaign underway this weekend away at Lincoln City.

Lincoln finished 17th in League One last season, and will be among the sides City will be looking to finish above to ensure survival back in the third tier.

Exeter have not been on an overseas tour this year but have played a series of local pre-season games to get them ready for the new campaign.

Despite most of the games being played behind closed doors, fans are still excited about the prospect of watching League One football at St James' Park.

One fan said: "It's amazing we'll get to go to new grounds, we have an exciting season ahead of us."

Another said: " I think our players are great and the manager is amazing they will do very well, we could do with a few more players but the ones we have got, local youngsters are absolutely brilliant."

Fans are hoping that Jevani Brown will be back in the starting line-up for Saturday's game after picking up a small injury in a fixture versus Truro City which the Grecians won 2-0.

While City have missed out on some key transfer targets, they weren’t prepared to sacrifice quality for quantity. Goalkeeper Jamal Blackman has arrived on a free transfer after his release from Championship club Huddersfield Team, while Kegs Chauke has come in on a season-long loan from Premier League Southampton.

Blackman and Chauke may have only joined on Tuesday, but Manager Matt Taylor is delighted with the pair.

He said: "Jamal is the profile of goalkeeper we were looking for and one we had to be patient with. He has fantastic experience from the levels he has played at.

"We needed a big presence and someone to take the pressure of the aerial bombardment we sometimes face as a certain type of team with a lot of young players. We understand what Cameron [Dawson, who spent last season on loan at City] did for us last season and we expect the same from Jamal.

He added: "I'm really positive with the squad. The way they performed last season, they showed an awful lot of character. We were never spectacular on a consistent basis across the season but we didn't have to be, we had a fantastic team spirit and that'll be our starting point this time round.

"We're still looking to add quality to that group, to add a little bit of experience too - I'm conscious of how young they are. But we have all the energy and enthusiasm in the world, just looking to add some experience within that group."

For the team, just getting out there and playing up a league is all they are concentrating on, however, captain Matt Jay remains realistic about the demands of the coming season.

He said: "I think we can be optimistic but we also have to know where we stand in the pecking order. Certainly, we'll be going to some places to really keep hold of the game and see what happens. I think it'll be really different this year to last year but we're all excited for the challenge."