Fixtures and Fitting In

Argyle boss John Sheridan has heaped praise on the trio of new signings that recently arrived at Home Park during the January transfer window.

Midfielder Olly Lee, versatile right-sided man Drew Talbot and youngster Tareiq Holmes-Dennis, loan-signings from Birmingham City, Chesterfield and Charlton Athletic respectively, have all impressed since donning the green and white, and the Argyle manager was quick to commend their recent performances.

“Tareiq did well on Tuesday evening,” said John. “I really liked how he played against us with Oxford United. The left wing-back position really suits him and now he and Ben [Purrington] are going to be fighting for that position.

“They’re two young lads, two good talents, so hopefully they’re going to push each other. Tareiq has come in and he’s settled in well. You can see he’s calm on the ball for a young player. He’s got good energy in his game; he knows when to get forward and he knows when to defend.

“Likewise, with Drew, he’s very comfortable playing right-wing. They can both play and I like the competition for places. I feel as though when we’ve got everyone fit, we’ve got good competition.”

Drew is a player that Argyle boss John Sheridan is more than familiar with having worked with the 28-year old during his tenure as Chesterfield manager between 2009 and 2012.

Another one of Sheridan’s January recruits, Lee – who was signed on a month’s loan from Birmingham City – has made five appearances in the heart of the Pilgrims midfield since his move, finding the back of the net on one occasion.

“Olly’s probably a bit short on matches, you can probably tell,” John said. “It’s totally different to under-21s football, which he’s played a lot of. He trained with Birmingham’s first team and he’s been in and around the first team but I think he has lacked competitive games.

“He’s slowly getting there, but the one thing I’ve been pleased with is he looks like he can get a goal.

"He’s had opportunities to get goals; when he came on against Hartlepool, he caused one or two problems and obviously got the goal when we were chasing the game.

“I think it’s just a case of getting used to this league and realising what it’s all about.”