Edwards' Oxford Preview
Saturday’s scheduled game against Sheffield Wednesday at Home Park was postponed, along with all English football fixtures, as a mark of respect following the death of Her Majesty the Queen.
Argyle resume action on Tuesday night against Oxford United, and captain Joe Edwards has spoken to Argyle TV about the unique week we – and the whole country – have experienced.
“It’s a sad time for a lot of people,” he said. “People like to pay their respects in different ways. I’m sure many people would have wanted to carry on as normal and do it that way.
“It shows how great our country is at times, when things like this happen, people come together, and it is a great place to be. We all pay our respects to The Queen, who was a fantastic person who led this country well.
“We trained on Saturday morning and had an in-house game. It would have been nice to have still played on Saturday, and pay our respects in person in front of a packed house. However, we respect the decision, and we will turn our focus to the next game.”
Karl Robinson’s Oxford head to Home Park in good form, having won their last two Sky Bet League One fixtures either side of a 5-0 win in the Papa Johns Trophy. They are 11th in the table at this early stage, and have had top-half finishes in each of the last four campaigns.
Last season, The Pilgrims won both fixtures between the sides, winning 3-1 at Oxford then 1-0 at home. In the latter, the deciding goal was scored by Edwards, and naturally a repeat performance would suit him nicely.
“It was a very exciting game, that one,” said Joe. “It could have gone either way. At the time it was very important for us and it was nice to get the winner on the day. If we can do that on Tuesday, it will be even better.
“They are always a tough team to play. They have good players. I feel like in the last couple of years they have haven’t started great, but they always come good and the quality comes through. We know it is going to be a tough game; we’ve had some good games over the years, and I think this will be no different.
“They’ve got a good manager in charge. He knows the way he wants to play and gets his players playing. For us, we have to make sure we are at 100% to deal with their threats, and then play our game.”
Argyle have won three games in succession, with a 3-0 win at Forest Green Rovers followed by a 2-0 victory at home to Bolton Wanderers and an amazing 3-2 triumph at Derby County, with The Pilgrims coming back from a two-goal deficit.
This will be Argyle’s fourth home fixture in League One, the first three all having ended in success.
Edwards says there is naturally confidence in the dressing room, and a healthy competition as standards need to be maintained due to the quality of the current squad.
He said: “There is lots of competition for places, so the boys are performing in order to stay in the team. We want to keep playing, keep winning games and doing well. We know we are in the middle of a tough period, so the more points we can pick up the better.
“We’re in a good run of form, and we are very confident at home, and we hope to continue that.
“There’s no let-up in training or in games at the moment. Even if you are playing well the manager may change things here and there depending on which team we are playing. I think that bodes well in terms of consistency. If you rest on your laurels, you’ll be out of the team and someone else will take your place. We know we have to perform, and that leads to good performances in games.”
