Last season, Ipswich Town hosted Chatham Town in front of over 10,000 fans at Portman Road. This Sunday, 23 March, Argyle have the opportunity to play against the Tractor Girls on the hallowed turf in front of a similar number of spectators.
The hosts, the promotion-seeking Tractor Girls, were victorious in the reverse fixture earlier this season, but Head Coach James Bradley believes that preparation in the build-up to the match can put Argyle in good stead ahead of the exciting challenge on the weekend.
“[I’m] excited,” Bradley told Argyle TV. “You don't often get to play in stadiums like that in front of what will be a good crowd as well. The excitement levels are building during the week. We’ve had good sessions this week and will now get on the bus and do the long travel up!
“It's going to be a different environment for me, as well as the players. It's something that I'm really looking forward to.
“I think going out and being able to perform in front of a crowd, and having that atmosphere, is something that all footballers should thrive under, and all coaches should aspire to get to that level where there are lots of people that want to come and watch your team perform. Hopefully, we'll do that on Sunday.
“It's going to be a really tough game and we’re going to have to be resilient, have a real good shape and structure about us, have a real togetherness about us and play with passion as well. All of the non-negotiables that, as a squad, we've been talking about now for a few weeks.
“You're going to have to put on a show. There’s no reason we can't go there and compete, and when we have that good structure, go and try and win the ball back and play forwards as quickly as possible to hit them on the counter-attack.
“We’ve had some good sessions to get some tactical information into the players and been able to build on what we did the night prior. We focused on some work both in and out of possession. I think training's been really bright since I've come in.
“We have got a couple of niggles, but hopefully they’ll be available for the weekend.”
