Exeter City boss Gary Caldwell has challenged his players to come out battling on Saturday in order to end their recent dismal trend. After topping the League One standings in the early stages of the season, the Grecians have dropped to ninth place after three consecutive defeats and four in the last five.

City’s only point in the last five games came in a gritty 1-0 home win over bottom-of-the-table Cheltenham Town, who have yet to score in 11 games this season. Tuesday night’s performance at Charlton Athletic appeared to be a much improved Exeter effort when James Scott put them ahead, only for crucial moments and decisions to go against City.

A clumsy goal on the stroke of half-time leveled the score, before a disputed penalty put the Addicks ahead, and then Will Aimson was sent off for a lunge, a decision that has since been overturned by the FA. The game got away from the Grecians, who were defeated 4-1 in a result that did not reflect their performance.

On Saturday, Barnsley will pay a visit to St James Park. The Tykes started the season with a 7-0 win over Port Vale, but went four games without a win before rallying to finish fourth in the table. They have 13 points from 15 games played away from home.

Last season, though, SJP had one of, if not the, finest performances of the Caldwell period. City were imperious in a 3-1 win on a Tuesday night in March, and the spirit of that night needs to be replicated at the weekend to get Exeter back on track.

“Things are going against us but we have to get over that, no excuses, we have to work harder to get back to the form which we showed early season,” he said. “We’re doing a lot of things right, not a lot of things wrong, but key things that we’ve been doing consistently and aren’t getting right at the moment.”

“It’s critical that it’s not just me telling the players; they need to have a voice, be accountable, and have a team spirit.” When we have results like we have, the true test is how much they want to fight for one other and the club, and we have to come out fighting on Saturday.

“Barnsley had a great start but didn’t follow it up, but they’re back on track now.” We must be prepared, but also ready to perform at our peak. The most important thing is that we recover as a group, pull together, and understand what it takes to win the game and come out fighting.”

City will at least have Aimson available after the FA overturned the suspension of the skipper for his ‘joke’ red card for a foul on Alfie May. While in real time you could be forgiven to thinking why referee David Rock pulled out the red card, replays show clearly there was no contact with the Charlton striker and that the decision was 100 per cent the wrong one.

“I am happy and frustrated at the same time,” Caldwell said of the FA’s decision after the appeal. “It was clearly not a red card but we cannot get Tuesday night back and that was a big turning point in the game, as was the penalty kick, which I felt was soft, so moments which went against us, but thankfully there is no further punishment.”

Aimson’s availability will be key for City especially with a series of injuries in defensive areas. Jack Fitzwater limped off on Tuesday night and is almost certain to miss out at the weekend, while Pierce Sweeney is managing a long term hip injury. Cheick Diabate is another on the treatment table with his foot injury so had Aimson been out, it would have posed Caldwell selection headaches at the back.

Whether anyone else will be back to fitness remains unclear. Caleb Watts might be back, but striker Admiral Muskwe, who was only featured once since his Deadline Day loan move from Luton Town, is likely to once again be unavailable on Saturday

“Jack will probably miss out which makes Will more important but hopefully there are a few others back and it is important we get them back,” Caldwell said in a statement. “We need as many people as possible who are ready and able to help.”

“Admiral is getting closer. He suffered a hamstring injury and a couple minor injuries, and we are desperate to get him out. This season, he’ll be a huge contributor for us. He is working quite hard and will be available in the not-too-distant future.