Tisdale proud of England calls

Exeter boss Paul Tisdale could not hide his delight after two of his players were called into the England Under-20 squad.

The cash-strapped Grecians have already used nine academy products during the opening weeks of the season and two of Tisdale's stars, midfielder Matt Grimes and goalkeeper Christy Pym, have been included in Aidy Boothroyd's squad for the first time. "It is big news for the boys, the club and the area really because it doesn't happen too often in Exeter," Tisdale said. "It will be a good, exciting experience for them and a thrilling one. "It has been no secret that we have got a growing reputation for our young players. "We have a lot of young players coming through but part of that is circumstance, part is the will to give them the opportunity and they have to achieve a level of performance that gets them selected. They have done that and well done to them. "It is the club's way that has made this possible. There is a lot of work going in to produce these players through the academy because they know it is not a futile exercise. They know if they are good enough they will get a chance, pushed, driven and encouraged." Grimes and Pym are joined in the squad by the likes of Jordon Ibe, James Wilson and Rolando Aarons, players who have already made their Premier League debuts, and Tisdale is intrigued to see their reaction to rubbing shoulders with top-flight talents. "It will be very interesting to see how the boys cope in their surroundings," he added. "The players who tend to be selected are from Premier League teams and this is a very different type of selection; players who are playing league football week-in week-out. "It will be really good for them to judge themselves against players from Premier League teams. It will be interesting to see but I think they will do very well."