Drew Conclusions

WHEN you have had to contemplate the possibility of giving up football altogether, even a 3-2 defeat at Hartlepool does not seem so bad.

Drew Talbot made his Argyle debut on loan from Chesterfield in the Pilgrims’ loss at Victoria Park, starting the game and playing three-quarters of the match before being substituted.

Like his new team-mates for the next three months, he was bitterly disappointed not to reverse Argyle’s seven-game winless streak, but his first start for months, following serious health concerns, was something of a triumph.

He said: “I had an injury which was so rare that the surgeon I had said there were literally two cases that he’d ever dealt with. I tore both adductors off my pubic bone, which is unheard of.

“It’s been tough. I was on the cusp of having to quit football, but the support of my family, and of everyone at Chesterfield, which I am grateful for, got me back.”

Having proved his fitness at Saltergate, 28-year-old Drew was eager to move to Home Park when former manager John Sheridan came calling. The deal, though, was completed only on the eve of the Hartlepool match.

“I heard about a week or ten days that there was something in the pipeline,” he said, after the game. “Chesterfield put a stop to that because we had a couple of injuries, and then, on Thursday night, I got a message saying there was a possibility of it happening.

“On Friday, there was another hitch about a recall that Chesterfield wanted which might have put it in jeopardy, but they finally sorted it out and I made it clear that wanted to come down and play games. Thankfully, Chesterfield made it happen.

“The lads at Chesterfield are doing great and my playing time was limited there so, as soon as I heard Plymouth were interested, it was something that I could maybe get away, get my head down and try to concentrate on getting back to where I was.

“It’s been a whirlwind 24 hours and it’s never easy coming and trying to play with lads you have never played with before. On a personal level, I am thrilled I got so many minutes but the result obviously puts a dampener on that.”

Drew started his career, under Paul Sturrock at Sheffield Wednesday, as a teenage striker but has since adapted his game.

“I’ve probably converted into a right-back and I like to play there,” he said, “but I can play further forward. I’m one of those that, regardless of where I play, you’ll get 100% from me, but, if you ask me where I’d like to play, it would be on the right-hand side.”

Just playing for Argyle until the end of the season will do for now for Drew, however.

He said: “My contract’s up at the end of the year so I have the incentive of playing for my future, wherever that might be, Chesterfield or somewhere else.

“It’s something I am looking forward to because I miss playing, miss being able train week in, week out. I am grateful I have been given the opportunity to come here and play for the next three months.”