Matt Taylor, who won promotion twice as an Exeter City player, became the Grecians’ manager in June 2018 after a short spell as the club’s under-23s manager. Succeeding the long-serving Paul Tisdale, he guided City to the League Two play-offs in 2020 and automatic promotion in 2022 before leaving to manage Rotherham United. 

A one-time goal keeper who had won the FA Trophy with Burscough, Matt converted to playing in central defence when at Bath University from where he joined Exeter City in 2007. Signed by his former Team Bath coach Paul Tisdale, he won promotion with the Grecians in 2008 and 2009 before signing for Charlton Athletic in 2011. Later playing for Bradford City, Cheltenham Town and Newport County, Matt gained further academic qualifications whilst later coaching at Exeter City in his own time. 

Making a favourable impression on his return to St James’ Park, he was soon appointed as under-23s coach for the 2017/18 season and, with the club seeking a new manager for the first time in twelve years following the departure of Paul Tisdale, Matt appeared to be the ideal ‘in house’ candidate to assume the responsibility of first-team manger in June 2018. 

And so it proved. After two 4th and 5th place finishes in Tisdale’s final seasons, it fell to Matt to return a generally-encouraging 9th place finish in 2018/19 followed by 5th in 2019/20 (although City were soundly-beaten in the Wembley play-off by Northampton Town behind closed-doors during the Covid-19 lockdown). 

With a strong emphasis on ‘home grown’ players, but amidst the strangeness of football in the pandemic, the cycle continued with a dip back to 9th place in 2020/21. A degree of uncertainty pervaded St James’ Park for a while, as it did at most clubs, but once the crowds returned at the start of 2021/22 City never looked back and finished the season as runners-up to Forest Green Rovers in a climax to the season where there was still a chance of the divisional championship going into the final match. 

With most of the squad retained, and with new signings starting to bed in, hopes were high that Matt could guide the Grecians safely through their first season in the third tier for a decade. But other clubs were taking note of Matt’s capabilities and, in October 2022, he left to take charge of Rotherham United to be replaced by Gary Caldwell.

However, as Caldwell kept City in the middle-ground of League One over the following seasons, Matt Taylor enjoyed little success at Rotherham United and Bristol Rovers lasting little more than a year at either club.