The game was Exeter’s first since they were drawn away at Premier League giants Manchester City in the third round of the FA Cup.
January’s tie at the Etihad could go a long way to easing the financial concerns that have blighted the fan-owned club this season.
But Caldwell says it was important that his side were focused on the game with AFC Wimbledon, rather than having their minds on a match that is weeks away.
“It’s a difficult thing to do when you have such a high of an FA Cup tie, and obviously get the high of the draw,” he said.
“We had to get back to work tonight and make sure we won and we’ve done that.”
He added: “It’s going to be a brilliant game [against City], but it’s not coming for a number of weeks.
“We have to win league games before that. I said that to the players if you want to be a top team or recognised as a top team, then your league form is what matters.
“FA Cup runs are a bit of icing on the cake and we have to make sure we win a lot of football matches before we go there.
“We have to build confidence before we go there because it’s going to be a huge task, but there’ll be no mention of that until the week before.”
