‘They will be worried about us’ - Exeter defender delivers warning to rivals Portsmouth, Plymouth, Derby, Peterborough & Co

The Grecians have enjoyed a fine start back in League One, sitting 13th in the table following last season’s promotion.

The early months of the campaign saw them pick up valuable victories over Barnsley and Peterborough, along with draws against Wycombe and Derby.

However, Exeter are without a win in their past five league games and have just two triumphs under new boss Gary Caldwell.

They face an out-of-form Pompey on Boxing Day, whose recent struggles have seen them drop to 10th in the table.

Danny Cowley’s side are without a League One win since October and sit third from bottom based on results over the past 10 games.

After settling into life in the third tier, Key insists his side should be proud of the start they've had.

And he issued a warning to Pompey and league rivals ahead of their Boxing Day contest.

He told Devon Live: ‘We perhaps have not given ourselves enough credit in the games we have had.

‘They have all been against side’s top of the league and tough opponents so we have to be honest and give us a pat on the back about how we have done.

‘We have got some decent results and we have not been at our best so when we play them the second time around, they will be worried about us.

‘We started the season better than people thought we would, but also there is still a lot of room for improvement.

‘We know we can do better to get the points we need to get, and can look forward to the second half of the season and use the experience to see how far up the table we can finish.

‘But at this level, you get more teams who punish you for mistakes and no-one wants to make mistakes, but teams capitalise on them more.’