Former Cardiff City boss Neil Warnock will not take charge of Plymouth Argyle for their final six games of the season, despite the 75-year-old being open for the offer.
The Pilgrims sacked head coach Ian Foster after their 1-0 defeat against Bristol City which capped off a truly torrid spell for the club. With five losses in their last six games, now is the time that Plymouth have opted for change, with a late roll of the dice to preserve their Championship status.
Sat in 21st and just one point above the relegation zone, it comes as no surprise to see the club move on given Foster would win just four of his 16 games in charge. The reigns have been passed over to Neil Dewnship and Kevin Nancekivell until the end of the season with the hopes of keeping the club afloat and avoiding relegation back to League One at the first time of asking.
There were however some rumours that the club may opt to pursue other options, most notably former Cardiff manager Neil Warnock who is very familiar with the club and does have a house in Cornwall. The 75-year-old was most recently with Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen, but things never truly worked out north of the border and the experienced manager has admitted that he would’ve been open to taking the job.
Warnock has a whole host of experience at the top level on his CV but he’s perhaps most well known for his time at Cardiff City, where he took the club to the Premier League for just the second time in their history. Having also managed at Plymouth previously, helping them to promotion to the old Division Two in the 1996/97 season he may well have been a viable option, and has worked wonders at multiple other clubs in his 40+ years as a manager.
It is highly unlikely now that the former Bluebirds boss will be back at the helm of a Championship club again this season with Plymouth announcing their caretaker managers until the end of the season. In an interview with the Plymouth Herald, the 75-year-old stated that he was up for taking charge of the second tier strugglers.
“I would have done it if they had asked me but they haven’t, they have gone that way. They have got some really good players you know.”
“Me and my daughter Amy go to the games and we just love it there, with the atmosphere and everything. It has been fabulous so I do want them to make sure they stay in the Championship because financially it makes a difference I think.”
“It’s my club that, I love the club, so I just want them to do well. I will be going to some of these games and hoping they can get the results.”
Writer’s View
Warnock is a true legend in a managerial capacity in England and the job that he did with teams like Cardiff, Queens Park Rangers and a whole list of others truly shows his quality. He did however struggle during his time at Aberdeen which could’ve potentially put Plymouth off as well as not knowing the current squad as well as Dewnship and Nancekivell do.
It’s a huge six games left for Plymouth, who find themselves in a tight relegation battle. They’ll be hoping that the removal of Foster can spark a change, and it needs to if they are wanting to survive this season. The same cannot be said for Warnock’s former employer Cardiff, who sit 11th currently and will almost certainly be in the second tier again next season.
