Anthony Scully's Impact at Exeter City: A New Footballing Home
Anthony Scully walked into Exeter City a free agent. A month later, he sounds like a man who has found his footballing home.
“I want to hopefully stay here for many more years to be honest because I absolutely love it,” the 27-year-old told BBC Radio Devon. “I've only been here a month but, I couldn't be happier.”
It’s not hard to see why. Since the Irish forward signed a short-term deal at St James Park until next summer, Exeter have gone from fragile and flat to hard to beat. Five games unbeaten in all competitions. Momentum where there was anxiety. Belief where there had been a hangover from relegation.
From slow start to sharp edge
Exeter’s season had opened with a thud. One win in their first eight League Two matches after dropping from League One, and the table already made for uncomfortable reading. The performances lacked conviction. The mood around the club mirrored the results.
Then came Scully.
On his debut, he settled a tight game against Rotherham United with the only goal in a 1-0 win, a moment that felt more than just three points. It was a jolt of energy for a side that had forgotten how to close out matches.
The spark caught. Exeter went on to knock League One side Oxford United out of the Jersey Mike's Trophy on penalties, a result that underlined their growing steel. They followed that by finally ending a long, nagging statistic: a first away win since January, and against Scully’s former club Shrewsbury Town for good measure.
A draw at Colchester United kept the run alive. Then came the most eye-catching result of the lot – a 2-0 victory over previously unbeaten Crewe Alexandra, with Scully on the scoresheet again.
The transformation has not been subtle.
Standards, not luck
Scully is clear: this is not a lucky streak.
“From what I see each day in training, the way the lads train, how hard the staff work in terms of putting sessions on, the detail that goes into everything, these results aren't a fluke,” he said.
The language is revealing. Detail. Standards. Application. These are the words of a player who feels aligned with the environment he has joined, not just enjoying a personal purple patch.
“At the end you can only control what you can control, and if we keep keeping our standards high and the detail is there and the application is there, there's no reason why this run can't continue.
“Football changes all the time, so all we can control is how we act every day in training, and since I've come in the standards have been brilliant, really, really high.
“So it's no surprise why we've gone on the run we have.”
The message is as much for the dressing room as it is for the supporters: this is a process, not a fluke. Exeter’s shift in form is being built on the training ground, not on fortune.
Short deal, long view
The intriguing part is Scully’s contract. Officially, he is only tied to Exeter until next summer. Unofficially, he is already talking like a long-term signing.
For a club trying to rebuild after relegation, that matters. Players who buy into the project, who speak about standards and daily habits, tend to be the ones managers lean on when the inevitable dips arrive.
Exeter’s unbeaten run will end at some point. The league will test them again. The question is whether this new edge, this insistence on detail that Scully keeps coming back to, holds when the results turn.
Right now, though, the picture is clear. A team that started the season stuck in reverse has found a forward who scores, presses, and talks like a leader. A short contract is on paper. His intentions are already out in the open.
He wants to stay. If this run continues, Exeter might not hesitate to make sure he does.
