Birmingham City (H) | Dewsnip's Preview

Saturday’s win for Argyle, over Rotherham United, feels a long time ago now.

It was quite the tumultuous game. It had five goals; it saw Argyle fall behind, get in front, be drawn level with and then ultimately win the game; it had a last -ditch winner for the second home game in a row, sending the Green Army into raptures; and it had injuries to Ryan Hardie and Mustapha Bundu, which aggrieved and possibly galvanised players and fans alike.

As it turned out, it was far from the talking point of the Home Park week.

On Monday, rumours gathered pace about manager Steven Schumacher departing, bound for Stoke City, and on Tuesday this was confirmed as being true.

By the time Schumacher was formally announced in the Potteries, in PL2 the focus was very much on keeping continuity as the Greens prepare for a 10-day period which includes four games of Sky Bet Championship football.

The first step on that path was the installation of Director of Football Neil Dewsnip and first-team coach Kevin Nancekivell as the temporary management team, with assistance from Academy goalkeeping coach Rhys Wilmot, who is stepping up to first-team duties, to re-inhabit a role he held for many years.

It is a coaching team with years – decades – of Argyle history, and stacks of footballing knowhow, and they are focused on ensuring that the messages to the players tasked with competing in the upcoming quartet of games remains consistent and clear.

“I think the most important thing are the players,” Dewsnip said, facing the media on Thursday. “On Saturday afternoon at 3pm, we need our players to perform as well as they possibly can. There's been stability straight away. Kevin Nancekivell has been all over it.

“I've worked with the players on the grass. Joe Edwards has being a magnificent captain in terms of reassuring the players, galvanising them. They're in great shape. They're really looking forward to the game.

“The other thing that's important is the staff. [CEO] Andrew Parkinson has spoken not only to the players, he's spoken to the staff, just to say that change can be difficult, but he doesn't foresee any further change.

“[Managers leaving] is a footballing reality; it doesn't throw players as significantly as people may think. Is there panic in the dressing room? Absolutely not. Is there disappointment? Yeah, a lot of them thought the world of Steven Schumacher, but they're very resilient.

“They'll have conversations, I'm sure, in private with Steven. They'll thank him and they'll move on.  With a bit of luck, they'll be trying to please me and Nance and the Green Army on Saturday to the best of their ability, and whoever comes in as our next manager, they'll be doing exactly the same.

“We're going to take our time to find the right candidate to be our next manager. That process is starting. It's in its very, very early stages, but it's started already. We've shared that information with the players. The game plans are forming. We will be prepared for Saturday.”

Whomever ends up being the next permanent manager in the Argyle dugout, the identity of the opposition boss this weekend is quite the coincidence.

It happens to be Wayne Rooney, one of the greatest English strikers of all time. A huge name, and at any other time would perhaps pull focus from the game. Not on this occasion.

To add an extra wrinkle to proceedings, Rooney, now 38, has known Dewsnip since the age of 11, from the Everton Academy. Such quirks are the fun of football, and Dewsnip recognises the singular nature of the situation.

He said: “I'm really looking forward to it because, first of all, how good is it going to be for me personally to stand on the side and be in charge of a Plymouth Argyle team? Nance keeps telling me how great it's going to be. I just know he's right.

“To actually work really closely with the players, many of whom I've known in the past, many of whom I've had a massive input into signing anyway, is an honour really.

“Then there is the irony of Wayne [Rooney], who I've known since a very young age. I'm sure he's going to be quite amused to find me in the other technical area.

“Our goal was, and still is, to stay in the Championship. People shouldn't be thinking that we're undervaluing ourselves. If we can get as high up the table as we can, that's what we want to do, but it's really important that we stay in the league, having worked so hard to get into the Championship.

“Saturday's an opportunity for three more points. We will be trying incredibly hard to beat Birmingham, and I know Wayne will be trying incredibly hard the other way around.”

Dewsnip gave an update on injuries to three Argyle players – Hardie, Bundu and Michael Cooper. While any injury is a negative, the prognoses on each of the trio vary.

Bundu initially looked to have the most serious injury of all, but first fears have been allayed, and his deeply gashed leg has been treated and he could be in contention to meet Birmingham.

Hardie went off against Rotherham with concussion, and although he is progressing well, protocols will keep him out for at least two games.

The news on Cooper, though, is less good. A training ground knee injury – to the opposite knee to the one he hurt in February which kept him out for eight months – will leave him sidelined for a while longer.

“Ryan is following concussion protocols,” said Dewsnip. “My understanding is that the earliest we're going to see him playing again is against Southampton. He has daily check-ups.

“Mustapha, we're monitoring his wellbeing, day by day. We're hopeful that he improves again with a view, maybe, to being involved on Saturday. We're very grateful that he hasn't broken his leg, because we all thought that he had at the time. That's good news.

“Michael, this time last week in training, fell awkwardly on his other knee, not the one that's he did the ACL in. He's done his MCL this time, which again is a significant injury, so he's going to be unfortunately on crutches for a little while and he's probably going to be out for between eight to twelve weeks.”

We have covered past managers, current coaches, opposition bosses, current players – it is only fitting we end on the Green Army.

Every club’s eternal constant are its fan base, and it is expected that Argyle’s will rally as is typical on this sort of occasion. The game, naturally, is sold out, and the feeling is that the Green Army are excited to demonstrated their backing for Dewsnip, Nancekivell, the players and the football club.

“They're up for every game, but if you can be even more up for this one, then I guess they will be,” said Dewsnip. “They don't need to worry about people who have been here and are no longer here. They need to focus on the people that are still here.

“That's the players, most important of all. They need to give the players as much support as they can possibly find on Saturday to help us do well against Birmingham City.  I’m sure they will.”

You can see full club interviews with Neil Dewsnip and Jordan Houghton, as well their press conferences, on Argyle TV now.