ARGYLE head coach Paul Mariner believes the options he has on the bench could be pivotal to our future success.

Craig Noone, Kenny Cooper and Joe Mason helped change the course of Tuesday night's heartbreaking late defeat at Reading.

Noone, in particular, was fantastic on the wing and Mariner feels that all three have stated a case to start in Saturday's clash at Barnsley.

"I thought all the lads that came on stated a case [to start]," he said. "Joe did very well when he came on - he looked lively.

"Kenny is adjusting to the league and Craig came on and he was dynamic. As a staff, that's exactly what you're looking for. Whether it's good enough to unseat the incumbents, we'll have to wait and see. There are all sorts of factors to consider.

"We haven't won a game for quite some time, so, as a staff, you look at what can we do to help because of battle fatigue and tiredness, can we find a top-of-the-ground type of player that can turn it.

"Therefore, we go to the bench for either Noone or [Alan] Judge or [Luke] Summerfield. The key to the whole thing is that when those players get in that they know their assignments, they know their job and what is required. Fortunately, we've had some good impact players.

"They [players left out] are obviously disappointed but they will fight for their place. I'm not going to say we'll use the rotational system here but there are occasions when we use different players because of conditions, pressure of games and form.