Not since the Easter of 1993 have Exeter City enjoyed a league victory at the home of their biggest rivals, Plymouth Argyle. Today, Paul Tisdale takes his Grecians down the A38 looking to end that 20-year wait in what is the biggest derby between the two sides for many a year.
The Grecians are riding high at the top end of npower League Two. They need the points to maintain a promotion push as they seek an immediate return to the third tier.
Argyle, on the other hand, are scrapping for their Football League lives and are in desperate need of the points to boost their survival chances.
The two sides have played out important cup ties before, but rarely have they met in league combat where so much is at stake.
"As a manager, you have to think and make a choice whether you acknowledge that with the players and discuss it and bring the factors into the preparation, or whether you do the opposite and step away from it and prepare like any other game," said Tisdale, whose side then host Rochdale at St James' Park on Monday.
"That is a choice I will make, but, either way, it does not hide the fact that it is a very big local derby."
When the two sides met back in December, the spoils were shared in a 1-1 draw. Argyle were good value for a point that day with a hard-working performance, epitomised by a man who has since left Home Park and joined Exeter.
Mark Molesley's performance for the Pilgrims that day persuaded Tisdale he would be better off at St James' Park and he duly completed a free transfer switch for the bustling midfielder, who had won the hearts of the Green Army during his spell with the club.
"It will be different. I mean, we have one of the players that played for them in Mark Molesley, for a start, so there is a change there," Tisdale said.
"They have a new manager, their home form since the turn of the year has been good and I think they have won three, drawn three and lost one and there have not been many goals for either side.
"There has been a sea change there in their home performances and I don't think we should expect to go to a side that are ready to be beaten. They are certainly toughening up and they have some huge games coming up.
"Even if they were in bad form, we wouldn't get an easy game. They have been very strong defensively and there will be nothing in this game.
"If we want to take anything from the game we will have to earn it and I hope that is the case for them too. I can't see there being too much given away."
Asked whether Molesley had provided a useful insight into the opposition's way of thinking, Tisdale joked: "I asked Mark about them and he said: 'Well, who is playing down there for them now?' I was hoping he would lead that situation!
"The life of a footballer can change very quickly. They have changed since we last played them – a bit like Bristol Rovers – and I think that is one of our strengths. We have those long-standing relationships in the team. But, no, Mark was no use at all, really!"
Indeed, things can change quickly and there was an ironic twist to Tisdale's words in that Joe Lennox, who scored Argyle's equaliser in December but has subsequently been released, was at Exeter's Cat and Fiddle training ground for an Under-21 game with his new club, Bath City, on the Thursday of Tisdale's press briefing.
As for Exeter, it is much the same, although the Exeter boss is hoping for a change in fortune when it comes to a derby result. City have failed to win any of their five clashes against Argyle, Torquay and Bristol Rovers so far this season.
"No, we haven't done well at all," Tisdale admitted. "But, ultimately, at the end of the season, it is all about where we finish. You can spin anything good, bad or indifferent. What really matters is how many points we have and where we sit at the end of the season.
"The next game is always key as that is the game that will affect and that is this game. I realise how important it is for the supporters."
Exeter City (from): Krysiak, Evans; Tully, Woodman, Bennett, Baldwin, Coles, Cureton, Davies, Amankwaah, O'Flynn, Bauza, Keohane, Molesley, Dawson, Moore-Taylor, Gosling, D'Ath, Rodgers, Micklewright, Roper.
Unavailable: Sercombe (ankle), Gow (ankle), Doherty (back), Oakley (shoulder).
