EXETER City must produce peak performances if they are to pull clear of the npower League One relegation zone, according to manager Paul Tisdale.

Having just faced promotion hopefuls Bournemouth and Charlton Athletic, the fixtures do not get any easier for the Grecians as they gear up to take on Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday and Notts County on Tuesday – two more sides who have Championship ambitions.

And Tisdale says he is under no illusions as to how difficult the task on his side's hands is.

"We have to approach these games in a very, very hard-working, well thought-out manner," the City boss said.

"We have to be on our game – there are no opportunities for us to produce an average performance. We will have to be at our best for both games, there's no doubt about it.

"But every game at the moment will be tough, as we will either be playing a side above us in the league or one that is a competitor of ours in the bottom third of the table."

Some positive momentum could prove crucial to City's survival bid.

And there will be ample opportunity to build that up in the coming days, with several games coming in quick succession.

After Tuesday's 2-0 loss at Bournemouth the Grecians host the Owls on Saturday, travel to play the Magpies on Tuesday and then welcome Bury to St James's Park the following weekend.

Tisdale said: "It will help the team to keep playing. We came off against Charlton disappointed and frustrated because we had played well.

"But the more frequently you play the better it can be, although it depends if we are winning.

"As long as people are fit and are at full throttle by the time we get to Saturday then that can only help us."

The good news for City is that everyone should be fit, barring any problems that arise from Tuesday's encounter with the Cherries.

Liam Sercombe hadn't recovered sufficiently from the ankle knock he picked up last month to feature at Dean Court in mid-week, but Tisdale is expecting the young midfielder to be back in action soon.

"Liam's a tough cookie and he's not afraid of pushing through the pain," Tisdale said.

"Once you have established the injury has been treated and playing won't make it worse it is down to the player to deal with the discomfort that remains and he is as good as anyone for marching on and applying himself really well. He is not perfect but he is fit enough."

As for new signing Luke O'Brien, he is in contention for his Grecians debut either at the weekend or against County.

And Tisdale reported the full-back has been settling in well among his new surroundings, having undergone his first full week of training with his new teammates.

The manager said: "He had a good week. The Bournemouth game was called off on Saturday so we had to train at different venues and the schedule was slightly different, but he seems to have settled in very well.

"He is a very likeable chap, a good footballer and now he has got a fresh challenge in front of him and a new lease of life.

"I don't want to put much pressure on him but he's made a good start."

Exeter City possible starting line-up: Krysiak, Tully, Coles, Duffy, Archibald-Henville, Jones, Noble, Sercombe, Dunne, Nardiello, Bauza