Having recently had a run of just one defeat in 11 games, Argyle have lost their last two fixtures, to Stockport County and Lincoln City, respectively.
The Greens head to Blackpool this weekend, looking to put that right, and for Head Coach Tom Cleverley, it is a challenge he is looking forward to.
For the first time in a while, his net update on injuries is a strongly positive one. Although Argyle have had bad news on midfielder Joe Ralls – surgery may see him miss the rest of the season – the likes of Conor Hazard, Bradley Ibrahim, Brendan Galloway and Lorent Tolaj could all come back into contention having missed fixtures; Bim Pepple, who went off with a facial injury against Lincoln, is fit; and, by Tuesday’s game against Leyton Orient, Matty Sorinola will be available following suspension, and Julio Pleguezuelo could also return to the fold.
Saturday’s game starts a 36-day period in which Argyle have nine games – and that tally rises to ten if the Pilgrims beat Luton Town in the Vertu Trophy.
“This is where I earn my money,” Cleverley said. “Galvanising people after a disappointing couple of results and then giving us a direction on how to improve that.
“I’m really pleased with the points return all the way back to after the first Bristol Rovers Vertu game, where we felt we found a bit of resilience; although we lost the game, we were down to 10 men.
“From there, I think it's been a really positive three months, and then that's been halted a little bit with disappointing results against Stockport and Lincoln. And I say ‘results’, because half of that has been positive performances. There are reasons why we've not been able to stay in that, with the injuries and the lack of depth in the squad.
“On the bright side, that's all about to change. A lot of players return in the next week or so. We're all very positive about that.
“Bim would have been able to train Sunday. It was just the fact that the eye closed completely up. Overnight, the swelling came down and he's good, he's trained all week.
“Tolly has responded really well to training this week and we're happy to have him back available for selection. Owen [Oseni] is getting fitter all the time at that end of the pitch.
“Bradley is available for selection. Conor Hazard and Brendan Galloway have both passed fitness tests to make sure that they're available as well for Saturday. I’m really delighted with the injury news this week.
“Tuesday, Pleggy [will be available], and Matty Sorinola back from suspension. Six players back in the space of four days is some of the best news I've had for a long time.
“It seems like every time we've got some back, that we've then lost some. But this week seems fairly significant. The fact that we'll go from seven injuries, plus Sorinola suspended, to just two out. When you're approaching such an important run of games, you want to give the best version of yourself and to do that you need your key players available.
“No excuses moving forward as long as everyone stays fit and healthy. I'm looking forward to pitching ourselves against some strong opposition, but with all our tools available.
“The two sides have had similar sort of journeys this season: disappointing starts, improvements around late autumn, early winter, and we will both be thinking to maximise the rest of our season.
“This is a really important period of congestion now. That starts with Saturday, against the teams that are around us in the league, against the teams that will be wanting the same ambitions as us for the rest of the season. It will be a lot about who wants it more, and that has to be us.”
