Missing Yann

ARGYLE enter battle against Burton Albion in Sky Bet League One without the services of suspended midfielder Yann Songo’o.

Two yellow cards in the defeat at Oxford last week has rules out the Frenchman on Saturday and manager Derek Adams looks likely to change his approach as a consequence.

The unique talents of Yann is not something replicated elsewhere in the Pilgrim squad but it does mean an opportunity for someone else to stake their claim.

“Yann is obviously a miss because he’s played the majority of the games for us this season,” said Derek. “He’s been a big player, he’s played very well in the games he’s taken part in, so he will be a miss on Saturday.

“We have [got players in that position] but it will have to be different because Yann is probably the only one who can do the job in the way that he can for the team.

“He’s very good in the air, good at shielding the ball into the strikers and we don’t have anybody else, really, in the squad, who can play the same way.

“We’ve got David Fox and Yann who can play in that area, but they are two different types of players.”

Along with the absence of Yann, first-team regulars Joe Riley, Gary Sawyer, Ryan Taylor and Scott Wootton remain on the injury list, but there is better news on players recovering from ailments.

Jamie Ness, Niall Canavan and Antoni Sarcevic all came through the midweek win over Bristol Rovers in the Central League, with the boss pulling them off early to ensure readiness for Burton.

“We’ve got the same injuries as before, four players out,” said Derek. “It’s important [for the other three to get game-time] and important for them to be playing in the stadium, and on the pitch.

“They all performed well on the day [against Bristol Rovers] and excellent to get them through that period in the game. I took them off, so they didn’t pick up any strains or muscle fatigue ahead of Saturday.”