On Merit

The Pilgrims head into Saturday’s game against Dagenham & Redbridge sitting pretty atop the Sky Bet League Two table, and a win in London would ensure their run as league leaders stretches to over two months. 

“We’re top of the league because we’ve gained enough points to be there,” said Adams. “We’ve won more games than anybody else at this point - what I will say is that it’s a competitive league. 

“I think that you always want an expectation to do well, and the reason they’ve got that expectation is because the players have performed so well on the pitch. We’ve been able to win a lot of games this season and play the style of football that the fans like to see.” 

The Greens have achieved that feat despite a smaller squad than some of their fellow promotion contenders, as well as a recent slew of injuries to first-team players. With a two-week break following the trip to the Daggers on Saturday, Derek is looking for his side to sign off with a win to secure their first position, before a well-earned rest for the lads. 

“If you look at it,” said Adams, “including Saturday’s game we would have played 25 games. With a small squad, it’s been hard. 

“With the amount of travelling you have to do, it takes it out of you mentally as well and physically. It’s important sometimes that you do get a break just to relax, to train, and not have the pressure of playing on a Saturday all the time. 

“We’ve got to try and get to the halfway point and assess things, and see where we go from there. We’re hopeful when we have the break next week that we can have a fully fit squad going into the Cambridge match.”