Before Wednesday’s game against Portsmouth, there was a sense around the football club that, with two victories this week, there would be a tightening of the gap at the bottom of the Sky Bet Championship table, and renewed belief that Argyle can stay up this season.
Part one was a tricky prospect. It was to head to Portsmouth, a side with a decent home record, and who had just beaten league leaders Leeds United. Not only that, Argyle were yet to win on the road this season.
Part one was a resounding success, as Argyle headed back west along the south coast with their first three-point haul away from home this season.
Now comes part two, a home game against John Eustace’s Derby County, who are two places and two points above bottom side Argyle. There is - rightly - absolutely no indication from Miron Muslic that part two will be any easier than part one.
Derby have had their own mini-revival. Having gone through a run of 12 games in which they obtained only two points, they have managed to win two in a row, beating Blackburn Rovers and Coventry City at home since Saturday.
Argyle confidence should hopefully be higher than it was leaving the field having lost to Sheffield Wednesday a week ago, and Muslic praised his team’s character to come back from that. Now, he is looking for them to go again at Home Park.
“It was very much needed,” said Miron, about the win at Portsmouth, “because we wanted to bounce back after, I think, a disappointing performance against Sheffield [Wednesday]. The pressure was on, the pressure was there, so we knew that we have to perform to make it up.
“We are in a situation where we have to collect points. Knowing our famous away record, you can imagine. But, finally, we can also turn this around and reward ourselves for a strong defensive structure, and having this transition threat.
“We could also reward and give some beautiful moments for the Green Army. I think over 1,400 of them were there to support us, to cheer us. Finally, we could give them a good game, a performance and an away win.
“I know that the lads have the character to bounce back. We spoke about protecting them, shielding them, from the pressure - and the pressure was on because we knew we simply had to perform at Portsmouth away.
“It's not easy. It was a hostile atmosphere, and just three days before they managed to beat Leeds, but we stepped up and we showed this character and strength, facing this challenge, to deal with that kind of pressure.
“[We found] a good balance, not getting too extreme and too crazy.
“Nothing was easy the last couple of weeks; nothing will be easy in the upcoming weeks - and that's okay, if we can find the right balance, if we can stick to this game plan, being hard to beat, but being effective and dangerous in transition.
“Our game is based on being compact, being tight, winning the ball and immediately starting the transition. You need the profiles for this.
“I think we had a good plan for Portsmouth. We knew they were going to have a lot of time on the ball, and that we were going to have our moments to turn them. I think this game will be slightly different. I think Derby will be much deeper, in a compact and tight block, and will give us a little bit more of the ball.
“That's why we need to be patient, preparing the attack and always being ready to lose the ball. It's also a pressure game for them, realising the situation we are both in.
“They have a very good coach, a very experienced coach, who knows exactly how to compete in our competition and how to win games.
“It won't be rocket science for them. They will not be fancy in the build-up. They will go direct, they will be vertical, they will try to get physical. That's okay, because we're going to try to do the same, and hopefully we're going to have the better end for us.”
