Plymouth Argyle currently sit in the middle of the table in the EFL League One so far this campaign, with them positioned 16th on 37 points.
Now, with the remainder of the season inevitable, Argyle will be looking to climb up the table and improve their position in the table within the remainder of the season.
Ahead of their next fixture against Blackpool on the 14th of February, I sat down with Plymouth Argyle News Hub to talk all things Argyle in a Plymouth Argyle interview.
Before we start, I would like to thank the Argyle News Hub for taking part in this Plymouth Argyle interview.
His responses were informative and aim to give you an insight into Plymouth Argyle as a club currently.
Plymouth Argyle currently sits 16th in the league. How do you feel your team has performed so far this season?
“The team has performed good in my opinion.
“At the start of the season, Argyle were struggling to get points and lots of injuries didn’t help.
“But, as the season has gone on, the better we were performing, and everything clicked.
“We’ve been on good form recently, and hopefully this continues for the rest of the season.”
Compared to your feelings before the season started, would you say your thoughts now are more positive or negative?
“Definitely more positive.
“The team and tactics have changed, and it’s working.
“At the start of the season, we were playing a 4-2-3-1, which prevented attacking opportunities and playing it safe.
“Now we’re playing a 4-4-2 and the team is staring to score more goals.
“With our latest signings in January of [Ronan] Curtis, [Herbie] Kane, and [Wes] Harding, I think it will transform our season to push higher up the table.”
Who would you say has been your best player so far this campaign?
“I would have to say Lorent Tolaj.
“When we signed him from Port Vale for £1.2M (estimated), there were many doubts that he would be a prolific striker like the departed Ryan Hardie, and this would be a new level for him to play in.
“He’s been a very consistent player and has definitely lived up to his price tag.
“He’s our top goalscorer and one of the top goalscorers in England’s top four leagues this season.
“He’ll 100% have lots of interest from other top clubs in the summer.”
Who has surprised you the most this season, and why?
“I would say Bim Pepple.
“After we got him from Luton Town, again there was doubt that he would be a good-performing striker this season as he barely got game time at Luton.
“His consistency now into the season is amazing, and he still has lots of potential to become much better.”
How do you feel your team has performed in cup competitions this season?
“Could have been so much better if we were performing as we are now much earlier on.
“Getting knocked out straight away against Wycombe Wanderers in the FA Cup wasn’t a good feeling, especially as they are in the same league as us, and at this point we were near bottom of the league.
“But making it to round two of the Carabao Cup, facing two Championship sides and winning against one of them after being 2-0 down to win 3-2 and to take the other one to penalties, but narrowly losing is impressive and shows signs of what we can do against better sides.
“The Vertu Trophy is a key aim for Cleverley to win it or even just to get to the final at Wembley and not repeat the last time we were in the final.
“Our team has done well in my opinion but could have been so much more.”
Do you think your manager, Tom Cleverly has done a good job this season, and why?
“Yes, I think he’s done a good job so far.
“Things weren’t going good for him at the start, and there were many fans calling for him to be sacked.
“He’s definitely got the fans back on his side, and they trust him.
“I had the opportunity to meet Tom Cleverley at a fan’s forum, and him talking about his aims and how he plans to go forward makes sense, and I fully trust him.
“He’s also still quite young, so has potential to become much better.”
Have your owners supported your team enough this season?
“They’ve supported the team, but not a lot in terms of spending money.
“We currently are investing £12M in developing our training and youth development facilities to benefit us in the long term.
“I won’t say they haven’t backed us at all.”
Which position has been the most beneficial to your side this season?
“The striker position has been very beneficial position this season.
“We currently have Lorent Tolaj, Owen Oseni, Bim Pepple, and Jamie Paterson as our strikers.
“Paterson hasn’t played a lot right now this season and questions whether he’ll stay when the summer comes.
“Caleb Watts can play striker and has played there a few times this season.
“Our main three equally perform as well if one gets injured.
“But, Tolaj has been the big standout and is a threat against other teams.”
Which position do you feel has held your team back the most this campaign?
“Definitely the defence.
“We didn’t have much squad depth in the defensive positions at the start of the season, as injuries to our starters have restricted the amount of chances we’ve stopped.
“With the returning players and our loan signing of Wes Harding, we’ve got more choice of defensive options, and hopefully we can reduce the amount of goals we concede.”
What do you believe to be a realistic aspiration for your team in the closing stages of the season?
“Realistically, I believe that Argyle can get top ten in League One and reach the final of the Vertu Trophy.
“Top ten is a target for Cleverley, and I believe we can get there, but hopefully injuries don’t happen as frequently like the start of the season.
“Making the final of the Vertu Trophy has always been a target for Cleverley since day one.
“He wants to get to Wembley at least but would be extremely happy to win the competition.”
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