Quality Not Quantity

ARGYLE will begin their 2014-15 Sky Bet league 2 campaign with a squad majoring on quality, rather than quantity.

Pilgrims’ manager John Sheridan will begin his squad restructuring this week after a 3-3 draw at Portsmouth – thanks to equalising goals from Reuben Reid and Conor Hourihane (2) each time Danny Hollands put Pompey ahead – saw his side end this season in tenth place.

John is targeting improved home form and a flying start in three months’ time, and is looking to achieve that by assembling a lean, mean group of players from his playing budget.

“I’ll have a smaller, tighter squad,” he said. “I’ll have one or two young ones who will be around the fringes, but if I could get 14-15 players that I am going to use throughout the season…we have got to hit the ground running.

“We have just got to improve on our home form. That’s a big thing. We have got to work on how we are going to play at home. We have done well away from home; our home form has got to be much improved.

“There will be people with a less budget and people with more; whatever I’ve got, I’ve just got to deal with it. There are going to be a lot of players available. I have got to work hard to try to get the right ones in, the ones we can afford. That’s part and parcel of the job.”

Getting people in inevitably means letting others go, with the details of the club’s retained list scheduled to be made public this week.

John said: “Everything will come out – who I am keeping and who I am letting go. Some people might disagree with who I am letting go, but that’s my job; I’ve just got to do that. It’s not a thing I like doing, believe me, but hopefully it will make us better next year.

“I have still got to see a couple [of players]. I’ve told one or two. It’s difficult. I’m really fond of them all. They are a really good group of lads, but I have got to look at what I can improve and I have got to make those decisions. Everyone will know by 11am on Tuesday.”