Club News

Small Wonder

CRAIG Tanner says that the Argyle squad are 'over the moon' for the returning Deane Smalley.

Deane suffered a cruciate ligament injury last November, and just four days short of a year since he last featured in a match-day squad, he was on the bench for Argyle's home match with Leyton Orient. 

Smalley did not get any game time in that match, but just his presence in the squad after such a long lay-off is a boost in Tanner's eyes. 

“Everyone’s over the moon for him, he’s worked harder than anyone else," said Craig. 

“He’s in the gym twice a day and then training, so it shows a real credit to him, and the type of person he is, to keep going after such a long injury which can be mentally very tough.  

“You never know: maybe on Saturday he might travel, get the last two minutes and get the winner."

November has been a tough month for Argyle, with injuries to at least eight of the first-team squad depleting the side at various times. Tanner believes, though, that there is plenty of depth in the squad though in order to deal with such problems: “I think we've coped really well," he said. 

“I think that just shows the depth; credit to the lads who haven’t played as many games that they would have liked, but they’ve come in and everyone’s done a job.

“It just shows that we’ve got cover in every position. Maybe, in another team, if any of the key players get injured it might be a different story, but I think we’ve shown the calibre that we have here. 

“We’re still top of the league by two points and still full of confidence. We just go into every game with the same attitude that we want three points.”