Exeter boss Paul Tisdale has admitted that he and his team had been advised not to travel to Norfolk for the 3-1 defeat at Norwich because of the adverse weather. The Grecians eventually decided to make the 300-mile cross-country trek after being encouraged to do so by the Football League.

Tisdale said: "When we spoke to the police in Norfolk they advised us not to travel up to the game so we immediately contacted the Football League.

"They said we should make every effort to get here and, by God, did we make every effort! We had a horrible 12-hour journey up here on Friday with a short stop-off for training on the way."

He added: "At one stage the coach had to slow down to about 10 miles an hour because the driver couldn't see the road properly because of all the snow.

"At that stage every single player put his seatbelt on and I don't think I've ever seen a group of footballers do that before. It was pretty scary, but we got here in the end and thanks to the under-soil heating the pitch was perfect for the game."