Battle Stations

ARGYLE manager Derek Adams saw enough from his team in heroic defeat at Wigan to believe that the Pilgrims are capable of holding their own in Sky Bet League One.

A late penalty from Nick Powell condemned Argyle to a 1-0 loss and sent them to the bottom of the table, undoing a magnificent rearguard action from the Pilgrims.

Until substitute Jakub Sokolik’s push on Michael Jacobs gave Powell his chance, it seemed that determined, disciplined display from an Argyle side without a handful of key players was going to reap deserved reward against one of the division’s top sides. 

Derek said: “I thought they were terrific tonight, from a battling point of view; defensively very good.

“We’re getting closer and closer all the time. I’m delighted that the attitude of the players was fantastic. Everybody contributed. I’m disappointed for them, more than anything, because they put in a lot of work. 

“The players are showing a very good attitude. They are in a very difficult position at this moment in time but we’re into a new league and that’s always going to be the case. We need to get a win that propels us further ahead. 

“We have got a squad that is capable of competing in League One, there’s no doubt about that. We have shown that in the games we have played in and we’ve shown that tonight – Wigan had to score a penalty-kick and they are going to be promoted out of this division at the end of the season. 

“I take a lot of positives from tonight: the shape of the team; the work-ethic was fantastic. The players have shown a great desire to get there, and we’ll eventually get there. We’ll go on a run and get things moving forwards. 

“It was a hard game because they are a very good side and they are going to beat a lot of teams here by a greater margin; we’ve been defeated by a penalty. 

“We were playing against a very good side and there’s not much you can do about that – the quality of Wigan and the quality of Plymouth is night and day. That’s just the way it is.

“We have been competing tonight against a team that have been in the Championship and have come down to League One and are trying to get back up again. 

“We just have to keep on working hard, and the players are doing that. It’s a tough league we are in; it is early in the season and we have just got to keep plugging away and we’ll get a break – we are not getting a break at this moment in time, but we’ll get there. 

“Our supporters that were here tonight told the story. They stood and clapped the players after the final whistle and that tells you what they thought of the players’ performance.”