Home Comforts

...as it is an opportunity for fans to see his new signings whilst the players get used to their surroundings.

The Pilgrims have already played three pre-season friendlies, but Saturday will be Derek’s first home game as Argyle manager and the first chance for the Green Army to see Gary Sawyer, Jake Jervis, Graham Carey, Gregg Wylde, Josh Simpson and Hiram Boateng at their new home.

He said: “We are getting a home fixture before the start of the season for my new players to get to know the surroundings, and the fans obviously get to see a game at home and see many of the new players.”

“It’s always nice to get to know the dimensions of the pitch. The pitches are always different anywhere you go – even the length of grass. All these kind of things that you have to adjust to, so it will be good for them to get that. They have all played a lot of minutes since they’ve come in.”

So far in pre-season, Argyle have beaten Elburton Villa and Bideford, and drawn 3-3 against Bath City on Tuesday. Derek is confident his new Pilgrims are progressing. “They have settled in well with the six or seven players we have used the majority of the time in pre-season,” he said.

“We’ve got the younger ones pushing along in the background as well, so I’m happy with the progress we’re making.”

Derek is expecting Reading’s youngsters to provide a challenging fixture for his side.

He said: “What we expect is whatever team Reading put out, it will be a competitive match. They’ve got a number of very good young players in their system and if they send along a few experienced players as well to help them out, that will be great.”