BEN Watson says Exeter  City’s players let down the  club’s fans in Saturday’s  lacklustre home defeat to  Stockport County.

The striker returned to  the first team for the first  time in 14 months but was  unable to stop City sliding to  a 1-0 defeat to a side who  hadn’t won in 17 attempts  and remain seven points  adrift at the foot of Coca-Cola League One.

Such was their disappointment, City’s players  will be delighted to have an  immediate opportunity to  get back on track when Bristol Rovers arrive at St  James’s Park tonight.

And Watson, who is likely  to retain his place on the  substitute’s bench, insists  the players are desperate to  erase the memory of Saturday’s hurtful loss.

He said: “The boys were  hurting after Saturday’s  game. It was hard to play  against a team that sat back  but we didn’t have that cutting edge and we were really  disappointed.

“We felt like we let everyone down and we have  now got an opportunity to  put things right.

“The players and the manager are working extremely  hard to turn things around.

 “The quicker we get out of  the relegation places the better. We are not used to being  down there, we are used to  success.

“We need to get back on  the winning trail and hopefully that will start tonight.

“It has been a difficult  season but we have got good  players and we want to show  that.

“We need the fans to get  behind us because they  can be our 12th man out  there.”

With seven home  games left this season,  Watson has spelled out  the importance of picking up points at St  James’s Park.

“You have to win your  home games and get as  many points as you can  on the road,” he said.

“Every game is like a  cup final now. We need  to stick together, stay as  a unit and try and recover.

“I think we have been  unlucky in some games  this season. I thought we  deserved to get something out of the game at  Millwall and we expected to beat Stockport.

“It is important that  we show our character  now and win our individual battles on the  pitch. We believe we can  beat anyone in this  league.”

Prior to the weekend  Watson last appeared for  City in December 2008,  before being sidelined  with a persistent calf injury.

He is now hoping to  prove his fitness and  claim a regular start between now and the end of  the season.

“It was great to get  back on the pitch. I have  had a frustrating time of  it in the last year but I  am not going to dwell on  that.

“The manager has  been pushing me and I  have been doing extra  fitness sessions. This is  the best I have felt for a  long time.

“The fans have been  great to me and hopefully all the hard work  will pay off.

“I need to push on now  and get back to my best  sooner rather than later.

“I am hungry to play  and hungry to do well. I  am ready to step in and  show the manager what  I can do and hopefully I  can get a few goals along  the way.”

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