Derek's On Board

Describing his understanding of the football club and how the city has got a positivity that everyone can thrive upon thanks to his side's impressive start to the season, he said: "I see a lot of happy people."

Those with previous experience of being in Plymouth and its environs during a successful time know that the football club's fortunes can indeed have a bearing on the mood of the populous at large. Suddenly, wearing your colours walking through Drake Circus or mentioning to the lads in the pub on a Friday night that you are going to Argyle the following day is not a cause for ridicule. The numbers of green-and-white jerseys lining up for after-school football practise starts to rival the familiar reds and blues of Premier League giants. Argyle is Plymouth, and vice versa. 

We already know this - but Derek is catching up fast. 

"Sometimes you're just used to a football club, the way it works and I've got a similar feeling here," he said. 

"The fans are enjoying it. They enjoy going to work, they enjoy speaking to people and that's what a football team does to a city.

"I see a lot of happy people and I'd like to say the supporters have been great home and away." 

Derek knows there's an importance to having a good fan base around the club. Attendances at Home Park are healthy, and the already famous Green Army travelling support is getting larger and noisier, too. 

"It can motivate a football team," said Derek. "They appreciate people having to get up early on a Sunday morning and having to travel. When they see the backing they get that can help in the performance as well.

"When people come to support you, you get that extra motivation.

"I've got an understanding of how the supporters want it to tick along and the board of directors as well. We've got the nucleus of very good people at the football club trying to push it along.

"We started the season really well and I think it's important that we continue that."