Let’s have a look at the end-of-season checklist, shall we?
The historical significance of an Easter fixture. The visit of a team third in the division, who will bring an outstanding away following. The clocks having gone forward, so the game will end in the Spring light. A sold-out Home Park. It’s all adding up.
Throw in the return of a visiting Head Coach who was the last man to achieve promotion for Plymouth Argyle, and we have a recipe for a cracking April contest, as the final seven-game chunk of the season begins this Friday.
Visitors Bolton are third; although unlikely to breach the runaway top two, Steven Schumacher’s Trotters are still a fearsome Sky Bet League One outfit, but he will return to a buzzing Home Park that has seen Argyle win their last four at home, the last game being against Huddersfield Town, 13 days prior to Bolton’s visit.
Bolton lost 1-0 to Port Vale that day, ending a 13-game unbeaten league run that stretched back to mid-January. Neither side have played since, with international call-ups curtailing scheduled matches last weekend.
For Argyle boss Tom Cleverley, that was a bit of a blessing and a curse.
“It was a much-needed break on one hand, but on the other hand, we were in a real good rhythm and form,” he told Argyle TV.
“We’ve trained really well in the last 10 days. I’ve been really, really pleased and impressed with the players' application and focus, considering we didn't have a match to prepare for.
“Then we've really knuckled down today (Wednesday) and will do [Thursday] to make sure we're in game mode, which we've not been in for two weeks.
“I normally get that feeling [of excitement] when the weather changes. When the weather changes and you start seeing t-shirts in the stands, then you know it's business. It's the business end of the season. The key thing, throughout the season, is make sure you've got things to play for when it comes to that - and ideally things to play for at the top end of the table.
“We've managed to position ourselves so that's the case. We want to take that as deep as we possibly can into the season. Having two games over a weekend is a really, really important period of time.
“We'd have liked if we didn't have to suffer so much pain in the early part of the season to get to where we are now, but sometimes it is a process that we have to learn about our players. A lot of new players having to learn about the club, the league, gelling together, a lot of injuries, but we've got to where we are now through a lot of hard work, togetherness.
“The football club have to take a lot of credit for giving it time to develop, and we all want to repay that now and achieve things for this football club. I'm really excited by Bolton on Friday and the six remaining games after that.
“[Bolton have an] outstanding squad. They've got two top-class players in every position for this level. I think they are the team that probably have the most match winners in their squad, the most guys who can turn a game that looks like it could be a draw, into a victory. We've got to be wary of them.
“They're dominating possession, they've created a lot of chances, they're probably unhappy with how many of those they've converted, but we have to be as good as we were against Cardiff, as good as we were against Huddersfield.
“Obviously, there's some the added stuff of Schuey's history with the club. I think any time two teams in the top 10 play each other at this stage of the season in the EFL, it's a game not only for both supporters of the clubs but for the neutral that catches the eye. This will be no different and we want to make sure that we're on the right end of the result.”
