PAUL Mariner has repeated his praise for the Argyle squad ahead of the Boxing Day trip to Cardiff City.

Despite our position at the bottom of the league and a recent run of five defeats, Mariner and his new assistant John Carver have been delighted with the morale of their troops.

"It is getting tiresome to keep saying the same things but I can't praise this group highly enough for their attitude," said the Head Coach.

"To be done 1-0 in four games and a 2-0, and playing half-decent in the second-half at Preston, they have got remarkable resilience.

"I know that supporters are probably thinking 'that's all well and good, but we want to see it on the field'.

"Something has got to go for us, if we keep doing the things we are doing.

"If the morale was poor, I would be very concerned, but morale is incredibly high. John Carver and I have commented on it again. I'm not going to say they're flying, but they are close to it.

"We have got some good leaders and the staff are a very positive group, and I think that trickles down to the players.

"What you'll find with the staff is that when we win, we're even keel and when we lose, we don't crazy. That is getting through to the players and they're enjoying what they're doing in training.

"The first-half [against Coventry] wasn't the greatest, but we pushed in the second-half. The response from the players to going a goal down was excellent and I think they genuinely believe they can get up this league."