Stop us if you have heard this one before - Argyle head into this Saturday’s Sky Bet League One fixture, at home, having won their last game 1-0, away from home.
This week, the visitors to Devon are Rotherham United, and the situation for the Pilgrims replicates the last two weekends.
Unfortunately, the portent is not that good. Argyle won 1-0 at Port Vale, only to fall at home to Northampton. Last week, the Greens lost to Bradford City, having won at Leyton Orient four days earlier.
Tuesday last, Argyle battled superbly to win 1-0 at Wycombe Wanderers, earning three points the old-fashioned way. It certainly demonstrated that heart, hard work, organisation, and various other classic characteristics, are alive and well in the Argyle dressing room.
So why can’t we win at home?
“A lot of it is about consistency,” said Head Coach Tom Cleverley, speaking to Argyle TV. “If we replicate our first-half performances against Northampton and Bradford, you’d normally expect to be leading at half-time. We need to understand that, yes, consistency is important - but why aren’t we getting in front? We need that extra 10–20% in the final actions: a bit more composure, a bit more care around the opposition box, turning dominance into goals.
“Defensively, we look solid; we look like a team capable of keeping clean sheets. Now, it’s just about that extra push - whether it’s a lung-busting run, landing on a second ball at the edge of the box, or that bit of composure and quality in the final third - to turn those strong first halves into half-time leads. That will help us turn around our home form, which we’re desperate to do.
“[Clean sheets] was a huge objective for all of us. The players really bought into that six weeks ago. Football is all about balance - you can’t fix one area and lose another - so that’s something we’re working on as we aim to become the complete team we want to be. It helps when your best players are available, but addressing the issue of being too open and too easy to score against was vital. Now, we look stubborn, hard to beat, and we have enough quality to unlock the attacking side, especially at home.
“They’re fighting - fighting for each other, and for the badge. You can see we’re much harder to beat than we were six weeks ago. That’s not to say there was a lack of application back then, but there are fundamentals you can deliver regardless of confidence, form, or venue. We need to stay consistent with those.”
Rotherham, managed by Matt Hamshaw, have had a season of essentially two sections. The Millers won just two of their first ten, losing six, and found themselves near the bottom of the table.
They were, though, on a nine-game unbeaten run – winning four, drawing five – until losing 3-0 to Blackpool on Wednesday night.
“Matt’s done a great job there,” said Cleverley. “After a tricky start they’ve put together some consistent performances. Wednesday was a blip for them, and they’ve had injuries and reasons behind it. We have to make sure it stays a blip and that we back up our own progress.
“One of the consistencies we’ve had recently is focusing on ourselves, and that’s what Saturday will be about. If we turn up with good intensity, discipline, and creativity, and take our performance up another level, we don’t just give ourselves the best chance of winning - we guarantee we win the game.”
