Scunthorpe defeat is special for the Iron's record-breaking manager Russ Wilcox

By Laura Williamson for the Daily Mail

Published: 17:57 EST, 27 April 2014 | Updated: 21:51 EST, 27 April 2014

It was most unusual to see both sets of supporters celebrating Exeter City's victory, but then the ‘other' St James Park is a rather unusual place. 

Drenched in rain and windswept on a miserable April Saturday afternoon, this Devonshire outpost played host to an unlikely football tale.

Exeter ended Scunthorpe's record-breaking, 28-game unbeaten run under new manager Russ Wilcox and preserved their Football League status.

Yet Fleetwood's failure to beat Southend also sealed Scunthorpe's promotion to League One. The two sets of fans were applauding each other at one point as the players splashed about and the Scunthorpe squad sprayed sponsor's cava.

Wilcox has experienced an introduction to management that he could scarcely have imagined. He must wonder what all the fuss is about; why 55 per cent of first-time bosses never get a second job.

Scunthorpe's unbeaten run was a record for a manager's first spell in charge, beating a 125-year mark set by Preston North End's William Sudell in 1888-89, the inaugural season of the Football League. Wilcox smiled ruefully at the  suggestion Saturday's woeful performance may prove a useful reminder of the grittier side of management.

Not that there is much  danger of Wilcox getting  carried away. He celebrated on Saturday by getting off the bus halfway home to join his family.

But there was pride, too, and rightly so: Wilcox has now achieved a hat-trick of promotions with Scunthorpe, as player, assistant boss and now manager after taking over from Brian Laws in November.

‘I felt ready to step up into management,' he said. ‘It's just about testing yourself and I have showed a lot of people I can do it.

‘But I could never have  pictured this. That was probably the worst performance of my 29 games in charge, but it's the most special. The unbeaten record has gone but we've got to look at the bigger picture: we've been promoted, and that's it. It's amazing.'

Exeter boss Paul Tisdale, meanwhile, is the second longest-serving manager in England's top four divisions, behind only Arsene Wenger.

He has been in charge of the club, 75 per cent of which is owned by the supporters' trust, since June 2006 and is taking his side to play Fluminense in Rio de Janeiro on July 20. Exeter were the first team to play against Brazil in 1914 and have been invited to South America as part of the centenary celebrations.

Tisdale, 41, had the courage and creativity to play a back three, wing backs and a midfield trio that smothered Scunthorpe.

He was rewarded with a stunning Craig Woodman strike and a second from Jimmy Keohane. 

This was only Exeter's sixth home league win of a difficult campaign, but Tisdale's gamble paid off.

There is a certain way to play football, after all, even if you're fighting for your life at the wrong end of the table.

What caught my eye

• Chester were cruelly relegated from the Skrill Premier on goal difference, conceding an 86th-minute goal against Salisbury as Hereford scored an 88th-minute winner at Aldershot.
  
• Poor away fans! Scunthorpe to Exeter is 230 miles. Hartlepool to Plymouth was 322 miles for a 1-1 draw.
• Dietmar Hamann is one of my favourite pundits. He described the two Champions League semi-finals as ‘porridge' and ‘lobster' on talkSPORT last week.