Plymouth Argyle head coach Tom Cleverley has admitted he enjoyed watching the 4-0 win over Burton Albion from the stands although wouldn’t choose to do it on a regular basis.
The 36-year-old served the first of a two-match touchline ban at the Pirelli Stadium on Saturday after he was charged for misconduct during a 3-2 win over Luton Town earlier this month. This allowed Damon Lathrope and Kevin Nancekivell to take charge of first team affairs pitch side.
It was a move which proved successful, with Argyle achieving their biggest away win for 11 years. The Devon-based side have now won four of their last six League One fixtures having lost their opening four.
Cleverley Enjoys Taking In Different Perspective
Cleverley’s two-game touchline ban was announced last week, meaning he will also be absent from the dugout when Wigan Athletic visit Home Park this weekend. The former Manchester United and England midfielder admitted he was ‘gutted’ to be absent on Saturday, although it did give him an advantage to see the team from a different angle. Speaking to BBC Radio Devon, he said:
“I’m gutted I wasn’t on pitch level, but taking a back step sometimes and actually see it unfold exactly how you planned it is really rewarding for a coach.
“Damon and Nance are more than capable hands to manage things at pitch level and it was a great performance.
“Damon’s a fantastic young coach, he’s got a hell of a bright future in the game, and the nice balance we’ve got Nance there who knows the club inside out, he’s been there, he’s done that.
“The advantage is I get a better view, I can see the distances, I can see the shape better.”
Despite that, Cleverley stated that he couldn’t sit in the stands long term like Leyton Orient’s Richie Wellens:
“I wouldn’t choose to (sit in the stands), like Richie Wellens does, but our performance levels will not drop because I’m not there.
“The work in the week’s been excellent, the players delivered it and they deserve a lot of credit.”
Writer’s View
Touchline bans do offer a unique opportunity to view games from a different perspective, which would have been interesting for Tom Cleverley on Saturday. However, no disrespect to Burton, it’s likely that he wouldn’t have learnt too much from what he witnessed. Saturday’s visit of Wigan Athletic will be a much sterner test and will give the head coach an alternative viewpoint to see how his side cope against a team that is expected to be challenging for a top six finish come May.
