A LACK of goals has been Argyle's scourge in recent weeks but deficiencies at the other end have emerged as the new nemesis.
The 3-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace makes it eight goals conceded in the last three games and manager Paul Sturrock admitted a big problem has developed.
"We seem to be a team that used to pride ourselves on being hard to beat, hard to break down," he said.
"We are now a team that goes chasing the elusive ones - the goals - and we have forgotten the knack of defending.
"In the last two games the defending in front of our goals has been unacceptable. We haven't cleared our lines on two of the goals this evening and it has finished up lying in the back of the net."
The hope for Luggy is that Marcel Seip and David Gray will regain fitness as soon as possible.
The absence of Dutchman Seip has been particularly painful for Luggy, with the other central defenders in his squad failing to find a blend.
"I am very hopeful that one or two of my defenders will get healthy as quickly as possible," he said.
"The Gray's, the McNamee's, the Seip's - these are the types of players we need back and healthy as quickly as possible.
"David Gray and Seip could maybe muster themselves for Saturday but that will be a debate between now and then.
"We have mixed and matched the last three or four games, and we just do not have the solid base that we used to have.
"We can't seem to get a blend. Our two right-backs are injured and we don't seem to have a pair at centre-back. When Seip is there, we have a covering centre-half and a big centre-half.
"Mat [Doumbe] and Cathcart and Timár have not gelled together as I expected them to.
"It is really costing us dear and the third goal epitomised how ragged defensively we are at this minute for somebody to run 60 yards and put it in the net.
"Our defence, which was the real key to us, has capitulated. They have lost the confidence now.
"Cathcart did ok at right-back. He was definitely very competent and Sawyer had a good game as well, but it is just getting settled in the centre of defence.
Argyle's defensive fragility was ruthlessly exposed by the Eagles, who broke Green hearts with three goals in 20 first-half minutes.
The first by Neil Danns crushed the Pilgrim resistance, and Alan Lee and John Oster were able to cash in soon after for Palace.
Luggy said: "I am gutted because, again, we have lost that goal and seemed to lose concentration, lose spirit, lose that attitude for a 15-minute spell after we always lose the first goal. Again, it has cost us dear tonight.
"We were very competent for the first 20 minutes and then the 15-minute spell was very disappointing.
"We were a match in the second-half. It was a reasonable game. People will say they dropped a bit but that is too easy to say.
"We seem to be a team that shoots ourselves in the foot all the time.
"It seems to be a mirror-image. We seem to lose that first goal.
"To be fair, the first goal was not what you would call a Plymouth mistake.It was very well-worked and the boy did well with the finish. The next two were a comedy of errors.
"At this minute we are not psychologically strong, as we proved again tonight, and every time we lose a goal now. We have got to change that and come up with a mental approach.
"If we scored the first goal, it would change the complexion of the whole place.
"We were losing games one nothing or 2-1 and they were tight games, but we have lost so many goals in the last two or three games."
Luck also played its part on a cruel night at Home Park, as Palace's second goal escaped strong suspicions of offside and the Greens were denied a clear penalty after the break.
"That's what happens when you are in the position we are at this minute," said Luggy. "We looked as if we had a penalty in the second-half.
"There was a push in the back of somebody and, in normal circumstances, you get that. At this minute, we seemed to be getting kicked in the teeth all the time."
