Edwards previews FA Cup trip to Brentford

Argyle, bottom of the Sky Bet Championship, travel to Brentford on Saturday, a side 11th in the Premier League, 33 places above the Pilgrims.  

Brentford are having another good season, and are particularly good at home, but Argyle have a bit of history on their side. On all six occasions on which these teams have been drawn together, the Greens have progressed, although three times they have needed a replay.  

That will not be the case this time – the game must be played to a result on the day – but club captain Joe Edwards, continuing to step up as a temporary coach to work with Kevin Nancekivell in caretaker charge, says playing in the famous competition may come as a nice change of pace for Argyle.  

“I think it can bring a freshness,” said Joe, discussing the Emirates FA Cup. “When you are in the position that we're in, at times it can feel quite draining as a player. I’ve been there before, and I reiterated that to the players in this last week or so. I know how it does feel when you are down there.  

“You are fighting for every little bit and scrapping for everything. To have a game like this is great. We've had a full week's training where we've got a lot of work into the boys, and they can go into it quite fresh-minded, to really enjoy the occasion, put everything they can into it and hopefully get a positive result.  

“[Brentford] are really strong. They've got some really good, exciting players and they've done really well. I think since they've been back into the Premier League, they've progressed massively. 

“Their recruitment and their style of play has been fantastic. They're a really good established Premier League team now, so it's an exciting draw for us and a tough place to go.  

“We’ve seen the stats; we all watch the Premier League, we know that and we know they're really strong [at home]. It's going to be a tough test, definitely, but I think it’s something that we can go into and really enjoy.” 

Joe, still out of action and rehabbing his injured hamstring, is clearly enjoying, and learning from, his current role in a tracksuit rather than playing kit. He says that the approach heading into a game against a Premier League outfit feels a little different to if he was leading the team out rather than patrolling the technical area.  

“I'm seeing the other side of it, to plan for a game like this,” he said on Argyle TV’s preview show. “Usually as a player, I'd be preparing to play in a game like this, where you probably think about enjoying the game and what you can get out of it, because you're a player and you're playing against some really good players at a nice stadium.  

“Now, I've been able to see the prep side of it, which is slightly different. Naturally, you're probably going to have less of the ball at times. You're going to be put under a lot of pressure, and you need to be a little bit more clinical, because you might not have as many chances as you might get in the league. 

“We know the level is a big step up, but it's an FA Cup game. Anything can happen, I think we still need to go with that belief. We need to try to keep that going from the last couple of games.  

“You never know. If they have an off day, and we have a really good day, it's something that we can really look forward to and give it everything we've got.”