Tisdale is serving two years’ notice as Exeter manager but could yet lead them to promotion to Sky Bet League One

When he puts it into context — results, the challenge, a swallowing of pain, the money he generated for a club which depends upon it — Paul Tisdale regards last season as “the best I’ve ever had”, which is quite a statement when you consider it also featured his own dismissal. Exeter City are specialists in nonconformity, a partial explanation for why their manager is still there, but 16 months later, the longest of goodbyes is approaching.

Exeter and Tisdale have featured in this space before; a supporter-owned club crammed with idiosyncrasy, a professional footballer who did not enjoy football, who “stumbled” into becoming the Football League’s longest-serving manager and who serves as an ambassador for Ted Baker, the designer clothing company. It is