Making It Tough

AFTER three months without a ball being kicked, Home Park stages the first of three games in a week when Leyton Orient visit on Tuesday in the first round of the Capital One Cup.

That precedes two Sky Bet League 2 encounters: the Devon Expressway Derby against Exeter City on Saturday, and the first ever visit of Stevenage to the Theatre of Greens next midweek.

Orient, managed by Russell Slade, represent the biggest test. They were one of League 1’s leading lights of last season, only failing to win promotion when they lost the play-off final to Rotherham. Since then, they have acquired new owners and invested impressively in talent such as Darius Henderson, Jay Simpson and former Pilgrim Shane Lowry.

Argyle manger John Sheridan remains undaunted.

“Anyone will tell you I like to win at anything I do and it will be a very tough game,” he said. “We are playing a team that did really well in their division but we are the home team and I expect us to give them a tough game.

“I’m looking forward to it. It will give us a really good test. Our priority is the league but I’d love to go and get some good results in cups because it can build confidence and, after Saturday, we’d like to get back to winning ways.”

Saturday’s reverse, after a dominant opening, has not changed John’s perception of what he thinks Argyle are capable of achieving in the forthcoming nine months.

“I’m really, really confident that we’ll do well this season,” he said. “I was beating myself up after the game on Saturday night because I want to win all the time, like many people involved with Plymouth. We all want to win.

“You have just got to be strong, tough, and get ready for the next game. You can only turn it around by going back out on the pitch and winning the next game and that’s what we are trying to do.

“For an hour, we looked decent team and I thought we should have got something out of the game. It’s a shame we didn’t. We have got three home games coming up and I have just got to get the lads focussed and we’ll see where we are after those three games.”

Tickets and hospitality are available at reduced rates for the Orient game. Click here for more on ticket prices, including how up to five kids can pay just a pound, and here for cracking rates on our hospitality packages.