The Tightest of Leagues
ARGYLE’S 2-2 draw on Saturday against Bristol Rovers means there’s still work to do to secure Sky Bet League One safety, but midfielder Jamie Ness believes the Greens are still in a strong position to get over the line with games to spare.
“If you look at where we were at Christmas, it’s a massive difference,” said Ness. “The performances we’re putting in as well, I know the last few weeks the results haven’t been ideal, but we’re still ticking over and putting in good performances. We just need to keep that up and keep the work-rate up.”
The weekend’s results have left the Greens in 14th place in League One, four points clear of the relegation places. For many fans of Argyle, or any side embroiled in the 13-team battle for survival, this is the tightest league they have witnessed, and it is no different for the Greens’ number six.
“I don’t think many people have [experienced such a close league table], it’s pretty tight down there,” said Ness. “I think all the teams are in different runs of form at the moment, some teams are sliding, some teams are climbing. Hopefully, we’ll be one of the teams in the ascendancy and keep pushing up.
“If you look at a lot of the teams, they’re very similar, standard wise. The league is getting a lot more competitive. Players are filtering down from the Premier League to the Championship, and Championship to League One, so a lot of the teams are very similar. It doesn’t really surprise me, it’s like that at the moment. We’re wanting to try and pull away as quickly as possible.”
In Jamie’s near-two-year stay in Devon, the seasons have been anything but boring, with Argyle climbing from the relegation places at the turn of his first season to fall narrowly short of the play-offs, before experiencing a similar climb this year. It certainly makes the League One run-in more interesting, and Ness believes it’s these situations that bring the best out of him.
“Obviously, you’d rather be a bit more comfortable, but there’s big games at this end of the season,” he said. “I personally thrive on that, and I’m sure a lot of the players do as well. To play in these big games, with a sold-out stadium and the place bouncing, it’s a brilliant atmosphere.”