At lunchtime on Thursday last week, Tom Cleverley left his pre-Doncaster press conference, and headed for Berkshire.
His destination was Reading v Luton Town, to take a close look at the Royals who, at the time, were Argyle’s next-but-one opponents.
Pleasingly, Argyle went to Doncaster and downed Rovers 5-1, and now will welcome Reading to Home Park on Boxing Day, with Cleverley’s side looking for a fourth straight win.
Reading are 15th, two places above Argyle, on the same points but with a game in hand. Their game against Luton, which Reading won 3-2, came after two defeats, but before that Leam Richardson’s side had only lost one in ten in the league, following a poor start to the season.
On the Boxing Day clash, Cleverley said: “It’s a game where we feel like we’ll have to be at our best to win, because we’re coming up against an opponent who are hard to beat. I went to watch them last Thursday and it’ll be a difficult game. They’ve almost got a similar tale to us in the way the season’s gone.
“They beat a strong opponent (Luton). They’ve got good pace in their team. They’ve got good experience with the two centre-halves; Lewis Wing is a proven player at this level; [Jack] Marriott knows exactly where the net is.
“They’ve got a clear idea of what they want to do and what they want to be. They’ve certainly improved recently, so it’s going to be a tough game. Two teams who seem to be picking up, who will want to continue that through a congested period. We will not be taking our foot off the gas because we’ll have to be at our best to win this one.”
Should Argyle win, they will make it four wins in a row, a scenario basically unthinkable a few short weeks ago. However, Cleverley is not going to fall into the complacency trap, and is sure to be preaching a similar message to his team.
“Confidence is important, but it must never boil over into arrogance,” he said. “That’s not even a message I’ve had to push – I can see the players driving it. I can see how they’re training. There’s a real desire and hunger about them at the minute, and we’ve got the right leaders in there to manage that. Things are looking upwards.
“We don’t take our form for granted. It’s been earned, and we’ll continue to work as hard as we can to keep the momentum.
“A lot of that comes naturally. You keep driving standards, you nip any bad habits in the bud straight away.
“The environment I grew up in, you don’t rest when you’ve won two or three games. The beauty is winning the next one, then the next one. What have we got to do? Focus on ourselves. There’s been a huge element of that recently – consistency in shape, team selection, performances, principles. That’ll be the same again, with respect to who we’re playing and their qualities. I expect two teams playing in a very similar way, so it should be a good Boxing Day matchup.”
Argyle are at home on Boxing Day for the first time in nine years. The Green Army will not have to schlep their way to Cheltenham, Cardiff or Coventry; instead, it’s Home Park for 3pm, and then maybe turkey leftovers, and a Tribute or three, from around six, hopefully with three points to go with it.
“There’s extra pressure on it,” said Cleverley. “We have to perform and give the fans a really exciting day. Boxing Day football is special in this country. We’re at home, we’re in good form, the lads are training with intensity, and we’re doing everything we can to make it a special occasion.”
