Home Comforts

ARGYLE’S mission to return to winning ways against York City can only be accomplished with a respectful and ruthless showing against the Minstermen...

...according to Pilgrims' boss John Sheridan.

A surprise defeat to Mansfield Town in the Greens’ previous Sky Bet League 2 fixture ended a seven-match unbeaten run in the competition that had seen Argyle make themselves a key feature in the promotion fight.

Despite the loss, the Pilgrims remain just five points off the top spot and only four from the promotion places, so another home win at Home Park against York will keep Sheridan’s side within touching distance of their objective.

“We are not going to win every game, but we have got a really good record at home, and hopefully we continue what we have been doing at home, which is winning games and scoring goals,” said John.

“Really, I just want to concentrate on us. Hopefully people will fear coming here. If we keep our standards up, we will have a good chance of winning the game.

“It will be a tough game against York. They are well organised and have drawn a lot of games this season. We did not get the result we wanted (against Mansfield) so it is gone now, and we focus on York.

“With the results last week, you can see that no games are guaranteed. In my eyes it is a very evenly-matched league from top to bottom.

“It is about the rub of the green sometimes, getting the first goal, but it is a very tight division. Anyone can beat anyone, and there is guarantee wherever you go.”

Indeed, whilst a home game against a York side sitting in 18th place may seem like a simple fixture for John’s team, the manager knows that the lads have every reason to not take their opposition lightly.

“They have not lost too many games, and if they could turn those draws into wins, they would up in the top half of the table,” said Sheridan, of York.

“They have got some good players; Russ (Wilcox) did really well with Scunthorpe then went in there and had a really good season. We have got to be really wary of them.

“I do not look at what league position they are in – I know that they can be a real handful on their day, and we have got to be aware of that.

“They are a steady outfit – usually 4-4-2 with good players. I looked at their results, watched the DVD of them last week and watched the DVD of when they beat Cheltenham away and beat Hartlepool away. They are strong and have got one or two decent players.”