Plymouth Argyle head coach Tom Cleverley has called on his players to ‘keep believing’ following their second round Carabao Cup exit against Swansea City last night.
It’s been a tough start to the campaign for the Pilgrims. Having dropped into League One following their relegation from the Championship, they were thought to be one of the favourites to secure promotion.
With Cleverley replacing Miron Muslic in the summer, the former Watford boss soon realised the scale of the task at hand after they lost their opening four league fixtures. There was a glimmer of hope in the League Cup though when they defeated Queens Park Rangers in the first round earlier this month.
Cleverley Defiant In Defeat
Plymouth finally picked up their first league win of the season on Saturday with a narrow 1-0 victory over Blackpool. With an important clash against Cardiff City on the horizon, Cleverley opted to make eight changes for the trip to South Wales. Still, his side managed to take the Championship outfit to penalties, which they eventually lost.
Speaking after the game, the 35-year-old remained positive and urged his players to ‘keep believing in the right things’:
“On another day, when Bim Pepple turns away from their centre back, who is the last man it’s a different outcome.
“We had good rhythm, we had good quality. We created the best chance of the game and and although the result hasn’t gone our way, there’s no way we don’t carry the momentum from this performance.
“All these small things, we’re on the wrong side of the coin at the minute and I’m sure they’ll change.
“We’re in a moment where we don’t see it seem to be getting what we deserve right now, but it’s important the players keep believing in the right things, the right processes and eventually that will bring results,” the 36-year-old said.
“I thought they were fantastic – eight changes, teenagers touching the pitch, coming to a really good Championship side who we expected to have the lion share of possession, but we certainly had the lion share of the chances I thought.”
Writer’s View
Plymouth have opted for a different strategy this season, which has seen them try and build a squad for the future. This has led to a tricky start but they do appear to be finding their feet somewhat. Although last night’s penalty shootout defeat will hurt, they did enough to show they are moving in the right direction. The true test will come against Cardiff this weekend, another recently relegated side that harbour promotion ambitions.
