Hull City (A) | Schumacher's Preview

A bright young chap called Rudyard Kipling once talked about taking triumph and disaster, and treating those two imposters just the same.

He was an astute fellow, was Rudyard. He may not have had any UEFA coaching badges to speak of, but his concept still holds true in football, in 2023.

When Argyle lost 4-1, playing poorly, at Bristol City, Steven Schumacher was less than happy, but his focus was on rebounding from that setback and ensuring there would be no repeat when Argyle took on Norwich City, four days later.

There was not. A resurgent Argyle won 6-2 against the Canaries, putting on one of the best attacking displays Home Park has seen in many a year.

Now, the task is to keep that going. IF Argyle can replicate that performance, and IF they take that positive to Hull City this Saturday, then a first away win of the season beckons.

But only IF they meet Schumacher’s standards – and their own.

“We spoke about [the win against Norwich] on Monday,” Schumacher told Argyle TV. “We got in and analysed the game. I think it's important to speak about positives when you have done well and not just have a big meeting when you get beat.

“We did that on Monday and then, again, drew a line under it.

“My message to the lads will be: if that's the standard on Saturday that we've set, then let's not drop below that.

“We have been, in my opinion, exciting to watch. We've created loads of chances and got into good areas, but for whatever reason, haven’t always made the most of them. We’ve still scored loads of goals, not just on Saturday. What we would like to do is be a bit more clinical and be a bit more solid when we can. That means individually defending well, and as a team.

“On Saturday we got that balance just right, hence why we scored six and limited Norwich who are a brilliant team to relatively few opportunities.  

“We felt against Bristol City, we were way below our own standards of what we can do when we're good as a team. We can't have that inconsistency. We want to try to have a performance that gives us a chance to compete. If we do that, then I'll be happy. We can go and play well, as we've seen against Birmingham and against Preston, and be in the game.

“The result can go against you for whatever reason. That's okay. You can accept that, but we can't accept a performance that's not to our standard. So that's the message. Let's get back to that level that we showed on Saturday and see what we can do at Hull.”

The Tigers, managed by Liam Rosenior, have had a good start. After losing their opening game, they have reacted well, perhaps most eye-catchingly winning 1-0 at Leicester City, and most recently, last weekend, picking up a 3-1 win at Stoke City.

It will take a lot of straining of heart and nerve and sinew for Argyle to get something on Humberside, but should Argyle fill 90 unforgiving minutes with the performance they showed against Norwich, they have a chance.

“They’ve been really good; exciting to watch,” said Schumacher, about Hull. “They had a great result away at Stoke last week. They are dangerous when they've got the ball. They like to play out from the back and it can cause you a problem. They are nice and calm in possession.

“It’s a game where we’re going to have to be concentrating from the very start, because they've got really good players and if you don't concentrate at this level you get punished.

“I know [Liam Rosenior] a little bit. We had a very brief coming together when we were youth players in the England setup. He's another young coach who's doing really well, especially this season. He did a brilliant job when he went in there last year and this season they are fourth in the league, playing some great football, in an exciting style.

“I’ve got loads of respect for him. I'm sure we'll go and have a drink with him after the game. Hopefully the best team wins; I hope we can go there and that be us.

“Away from home, we need to be mindful that a result, a point on the road, would be good. If we can go there, take all three, and get our first away win of the season, then that'd be excellent.”