DEVELOPING good habits in the week is part of Swindon Town Under 18s manager Dave Farrell’s plan ahead of this morning’s Merit League trip to Exeter City.

Town’s youngsters made the perfect start to the second part of their season last week when beating Portsmouth 3-2 at Stanley Park in Chippenham, with goals for Harry Parsons and Luke Haines.

And they could build on their opening day win when facing an Exeter side that they have already beaten twice this season in the Youth Alliance south-west division.

Farrell insists a well-prepared playing surface means his side are likely to face a different challenge this weekend – compared to what they were faced when beating a no-nonsense Portsmouth side seven days ago.

He said: “Exeter are a good side, and finished slightly above us in the first part of the season.

“They’re a very good footballing side and like to pop the ball around well, the surface is good down there too – so it will be a different game to what we played on Saturday against Portsmouth.

“It’s important that our players develop good habits during the week, just because we won on Saturday doesn’t mean that we will stick with the same team against Exeter.

“We have a develop our system and work hard every day of the week because that is when I’m judging them – I’m not just judging players on Saturday.”

Exeter started their Merit League One campaign with a 2-2 draw away to Stevenage, a side that finished fourth in the south-east Youth Alliance division in the first part of this season.

A win is likely to lift Farrell’s side into the division’s top three.

And while building on the three points earned last week isn’t essential, the Town U18s boss admitted players’ scholarships will ultimately be reviewed on the pitch and not on the training ground.

He added: “It would be nice to add to our three points from the first game.

“Any points we get against teams will be good – these are the top teams from both divisions that we are facing.

“It’s great to get off to a three-point start against a very decent side.

“Ultimately, games are where they get judged at the end of their scholarship.

“But, I like to think that they need to pick up the good habits during the week to get into the team for the following weekend.”