No Cleverley celebrations despite rare Argyle win

No Cleverley celebrations despite rare Argyle win

Plymouth Argyle head coach Tom Cleverley says he will not be celebrating his side's 1-0 win at fellow strugglers Port Vale.

The victory ended a six-game losing run in all competitions and moved the Pilgrims off the bottom of League One thanks to Lorent Tolaj's goal shortly after half-time.

The win relieves some pressure on the Argyle boss, who had seen his side fail to score in four of their previous five matches.

"There's not going to be any celebrating going on, it's going to be back to work on Tuesday after a couple days off for the players," Cleverley said.

"But more of a sense of relief, and a sense of excitement.

"I feel like not just the three points today, but the confidence that will give the players, because they have been a group low in confidence.

"This should take the shackles off a little bit and let the players breathe."

• What has gone wrong at Plymouth Argyle?
• Tolaj returns to haunt Vale as Argyle end losing streak

Cleverley played a four-man midfield in front of a back four as he managed to guide Argyle to a first clean sheet since the 4-0 win at Burton Albion on 27 September - the last time the Pilgrims won a game.

The former Watford boss - whose side has been dogged by a series of serious injuries to key players - says he is happy his changes had the desired effect.

"We've been a little bit experimenting what really does work," he added.

"I'm not the type of coach that if something's not working then I'll continue and continue and continue with it.

"So today we played 4-4-2 without the ball and 4-2-3-1 with the ball.

"That means it's the first time I've had real discipline with both sixes, midfielders, really honest jobs from Owen Dale and Matty Sorinola, and we looked like a solid unit, so I'm pleased with that."

Former Port Vale striker Tolaj returned to haunt his ex-employers as he continued to show the fine form he has produced since his £1m-plus transfer in August.

The Swiss forward has scored each of Argyle's past four goals and took his tally to nine in 16 Plymouth games.

"He works hard, he's driven," Cleverley told BBC Radio Devon.

"I think it shows... to leave Brighton and go to Aldershot, Port Vale in League Two, Port Vale in League One, then on to Argyle and then he's developed, he's not rested once.

"He wants to be right at the top and you can see that every day.

"I'm happy for both parties that Tolly's managed to get the winning goal, but the supporters have been rewarded for a tough period."

Συμπέρασμα