Pilgrims face uphill struggle for survival

The ‘new manager bounce’ has yet to provide a proper uplift for Plymouth Argyle after a disappointing 1-0 defeat at home to QPR left the Greens five points from safety at the bottom of the Sky Bet Championship.

Following the Christmas departure of Wayne Rooney as Head Coach, Argyle stabilised a rough run of form with league draws against Bristol City and Stoke City, followed by a superb FA Cup win at Premier League Brentford, earning them a money-spinning home tie with Liverpool in the next round.

Interim managers Kevin Nancekivell and Joe Edwards then handed the reins to new Head Coach Miron Muslic, the Austrian who was most recently earning huge plaudits for guiding Belgian outfit Cercle Brugge into European football.

Muslic introduced himself to the Argyle squad, and the wider world, with a rousing first speech to his players, which quickly went viral on social media.

Even fans from rival clubs were hugely impressed, with comments like ‘I’d run through a brick wall for him and I’m a Leeds fan’ and a personal favourite from a Middlesbrough supporter: ‘If Muslic asked me to get an Argyle tatoo, I’d ask what font’.

Thrown immediately into the action, Muslic helped his side earn a battling midweek draw with Oxford, and that was quickly followed by the visit from QPR. In a tight game of few chances, the visitors pinched victory with a second-half strike, and Argyle now must regroup for a daunting visit from high-flying Burnley.

While the Greens have stemmed the flow of goals conceded that ultimately cost Rooney his job, the immediate challenge for Muslic is make his team a more potent force at the other end.

It is a big job but not an impossible one. Argyle just need a spark to build confidence and beating Burnley would be the perfect start.