Getting Settled

ARGYLE’S surge towards promotion out of Sky League Two has, it seems, captivated most of the Westcountry.

Apart, that is, from a small pocket around Devon’s county town and, it seems, the manager’s office at Home Park.

While others chatter excitedly about the possibility of going up, or even potentially winning the League Two title, Derek Adams remains cautiously, Scottishly, stoically detached.

Having taken his second-placed side 13 points clear of the play-off positions with seven games of the season to play, snicking them up to just three points behind leaders Doncaster, Derek is nonetheless keeping a cool perspective. 
 
“I never get excited because it’s not my job to get excited,” he said. “It’s my job to do my job and that is, on a daily basis, to prepare the team for the next game, and the next game is always the biggest game.

“In football, you don’t get a lot of time to rest, mentally, as well as physically. You haven’t got a lot of time to plan. There are people at the top of the tree and there are ones down the tree that have to follow you. I’m afraid, if they don’t follow you, we don’t succeed; that’s the nature of the game.”

While Derek is happy to maintain his focus, he is equally pleased that Plymouth is enjoying the progress of the Pilgrims, who entertain Accrington Stanley at Home Park this Saturday.

“When the football team is doing well, and the basketball team is doing well, and the rugby team is doing well, and the hockey team is doing well, it provides a great deal of enthusiasm to the city,” he said.

“We walk about the town and we get a lot of praise when the team is doing well. You can see the buzz it has around the city; you can that people want the football club to get promoted.”

Such is Argyle’s strength in depth at the moment that four Pilgrims who have already played key parts in this season – Nauris Bulvitis, Arnie Garita, Connor Smith and Craig Tanner – did not make the 18-man squad that was on duty at Doncaster. 

“They have to keep competing and trying to get themselves to the team,” said Derek. “They are obviously behind the other ones at this moment in time. They have to push on and catch my eye in training and really deserve the opportunity to get into the 18. 

“The ones, at this moment in time, that are in the 18 deserve to be there. We’ve got a team that can defend and score goals. We’ve won 23 games already this season, and we’ve been able to go to the likes of Mansfield and Doncaster, where we have picked up wins.”