Manager Paul Tisdale says he is trying to build strength in depth in the Exeter City squad – even if it does give him a selection headache ahead of this Saturday's match with Burton Albion.
City go into the game on the back of an excellent run of form that has seen them lose just once in the last 14 league games.
It is a run that has taken them from the bottom of League Two to the verge of the play-off positions.
Not many Grecians supporters, if any, were predicting that City would be promotion contenders when they went six games without a win at the start of the campaign.
However, having added to his squad in the last fortnight – by signing Ryan Harley, Clinton Morrison and Alex Nicholls – Tisdale was cautious about backing his side as promotion candidates, but added that they are better equipped now to deal with an injury crisis should it hit the squad.
"I'm very pleased with how things are going, but I'm not getting ahead of myself," said Tisdale, whose City side will go up to sixth place with a win this weekend.
"We have been in very good form since the beginning of September, but we are not halfway yet and we are not in the play-off places and, as much as it is an opportunity for us on Saturday to get three points and steal a march on the other teams, it will be the same for Burton Albion too. I'm sure they will be looking at the game with the same kind of expectation that we are."
City were last involved in a promotion push in the 2012/13 season, but due to a disastorious end to the season – in which they lost six out of the last seven games – they dropped from third place to out of the play-off picture altogether.
A large part of that collapse was down to injuries and Tisdale added that the three new loan signings had been brought into the side to add strength in depth to the squad to help it absorb such a problem.
"I'm trying to make sure we have strength in depth to ride the type difficulties we might have, but it is very early days," said Tisdale, who was keen not to put the pressure of a promotion battle on his young side.
"Nobody was predicting us as promotion candidates at the start of the season, but I don't think we should be standing up and proclaiming our expectations as being promotion either.
"I think we need to go one step at a time. We need to look at chunks of games, which is what we have done this year. It has been just taking one game in isolation.
"Things can change very quickly, although we have just have reinforced the squad. My experience tells me from previous promotion campaigns, you need to strengthen the squad and you need to have strength in depth. You don't necessarily have to go and bring in players to replace people, you have to go and improve the squad."
Two of the new signings – Nicholls and Harley – were involved in the Grecians' 3-2 victory against Accrington Stanley last time out.
Harley featured from the substitutes' bench, while Nicholls was named in the starting XI.
Both of them, plus striker Clinton Morrison, will be pushing for a place on the pitch come 3pm on Saturday as will captain Scot Bennett, who returns having missed the last match due to the birth of his child.
Watch the highlights from the Burton v Exeter City game earlier this season.
