Muslic reflects on busy week ahead of West Brom
With a hectic schedule since his arrival in Devon, Miron Muslic and his Argyle side have hit the training pitches in preparation for Saturday’s early kick-off against West Bromwich Albion.
The Greens’ Head Coach has had a full week of training and a new schedule for the first time since his arrival in PL2, to help prepare them for an important Sky Bet Championship fixture at Home Park.
Muslic believes the opportunity at hand is one which can help Argyle continue to move in the right direction.
“[It’s a] luxury,” he said. “Recently, I think we had more games than training sessions, so that's why we needed this and have had a full week of preparation. We also have had a full week of some adaptations and a new schedule for the players in terms of arriving, breakfast, activation meetings, pre-preps, after-preps. Small steps.
“We aim to support the lads as best as possible, so they have a chance to perform at the highest possible level at the weekend. The whole week, I've been very pleased with our training sessions and the attitude. The boys are pushing and that's good.
“Time was limited for us, and we still try to maximise it every single day. This week was something new and was a positive change, so hopefully we can also deliver on Saturday.”
Last Saturday, Argyle drew 2-2 with high-flying Sunderland, and this week face another team at the top end of the Championship table in West Bromwich Albion.
Muslic admitted that the strong performance and result away from home at the Stadium of Light on the Saturday prior changed the mentality on Monday morning when arriving for a busy week at Harper’s Park and the Theatre of Greens.
He said: “Sunderland will be a reference for us because this is how we want to play. Structured, organised, competitive, intense, together, just hard to play. If we can manage to do this, and if we can fill this structure and this organisation with the right passion, desire, and attitude, we are just hard to play, hard to beat, and competitive. As soon as we are competitive, we can start collecting points.
“We also beat all the expectations. Nobody really bet on us and that's good. That's good because we still believe. Now, it's just also important to stay on this and in this mood. To keep on progressing and working, because we will need points and not only one point.
“If we can show the same spirit on Saturday, we have all the chances to keep the three points at Home Park.
“The next step is just to show the reaction that we can do it better, and the lads did it in a fantastic way. It's not easy to go up to Sunderland and survive over there, but especially with the way we played, I think we massively deserved this point.
“I want to use this game as a reference for us in the future. This is how I see Argyle. This is how we want to play together, high up on the pitch, tight, compact, full of desire to go all in and to give it all and then it will be always appreciated by the fans.
“I think that should be the plan for the next weeks and months and if we can manage to do this, we will be competitive. If we are competitive, we can collect points.”
West Brom are, again, another tough battle awaiting to happen for Argyle. The Midlands side sits fifth in the Championship, and with a new manager at the helm in Tony Mowbray, will look to continue their fine away form which has helped them be in the position they are.
“I am very much looking forward to meeting Tony,” Muslic said. “They are impressive, especially the way they performed in their last game against Portsmouth. It wasn't only about the result, but how dominant and dangerous they have been collectively, but also through some individual players and actions.
“We have to face this again collectively as a team and if we can do this, there are also things we can take advantage of from their style of play. It’s another top-six team, another high roller, but it's an opportunity for us.”