Match Day Preview: Plymouth Argyle v Bristol Rovers
Plymouth Argyle v Bristol Rovers
Sky Bet Football League Two, Saturday 7 September 2013 (kick-off 3pm)
After experiencing decidely mixed fortunes in August, Argyle began September with Tuesday night's thrilling penalty shoot-out cup victory at Cheltenham.
Manager John Sheridan will be hoping that the determined effort his team gave in their Johnstone's Paint Trophy first round result bodes well as the season begins to take shape.
Sheridan will be delighted with the form shown at Cheltenham by his two transfer deadline day recruits; defender Jamie Reckord and midfielder Hamza Bencherif. But speaking to the Argyle website, he acknowledged the team is still a work-in-progress.
“We are still in a process of players coming in, getting to know each other, and getting us settled,” he said.
“I keep saying to the players ‘You must know each other’s strengths – you’ve all got different strengths so you have got to know who’s good what because, once you learn and know what each other’s strengths are, I think we’ll be a strong outfit.’
“We have got good players for this division but I don’t want to be up and down. I don’t want to say we’re doing well and looking strong, then, the following week, I just don’t see the same team and the same players.”
It is this consistency that has so far eluded Sheridan. Last Saturday's league defeat at Morecambe, followed two excellent wins, against Rochdale and Cheltenham, who will be sick of the sight of the Pilgrims!
Rovers lie a point ahead of Plymouth in 11th place, with the Greens 15th, so there is plenty of incentive to win this Westcountry derby.
The Pirates will still be sore from their midweek Johnstone's Paint Trophy defeat to arch rivals Bristol City. Their league form on the other hand has picked up since a dismal start, with two wins on the bounce after taking a solitary point from their first three league games.
Plymouth took just a point from the two head-to-heads with Rovers last season. A win on Saturday would provide a further boost to that team strength and unity their manager craves.
