Nancekivell previews Burnley trip

On Tuesday night, Argyle make their first trip to Burnley since 2012. Indeed, it is a first league visit since 2008.  

The two teams have been on their own journeys since those encounters, with Burnley in the Premier League as recently as last season, but now they meet in Sky Bet Championship action.  

Burnley are fourth in the Championship table. Had they scored in their last game – a 0-0 draw at Oxford United – they would have been top of the league at this early stage.    

Argyle first-team coach Kevin Nancekivell says that the Pilgrims are looking forward to returning to Turf Moor, and indeed to showing what they are capable of.  

“It's a ground that we haven't been to since 2012, I think,” said Nancekivell, “so we're looking forward to it. It's a lovely stadium, it's a fantastic football club. They were in the Premier League last year, so that's exciting, but we're relishing it. We want to get out there and we want to show them what Argyle is all about.  

“We've done our work on Burnley. They've got a lot of threats; they've just come out of the Premier League. They've got an experienced team that have come out of this league already. They've got some attacking players that are a real handful. 

“We'll have to be on our mettle. It'll be a tough challenge for us, but we've got some players that I'm sure Burnley will be a bit concerned about. We look an attacking threat at the minute. We look like we're going to score goals and create so it should be a cracking match.” 

Argyle go into the game having won two of their last three, and even the sole defeat in that time - 1-0 at West Bromwich Albion – saw a strong Pilgrims performance. Most recently, Argyle beat Luton Town on Friday night, in front of a watching Sky Sports audience, giving further indication that the work of Head Coach Wayne Rooney and his coaches, including Nancekivell, is coming to fruition.    

“It was a really positive night for us,” said Nancekivell, thinking back to Friday. “Three points, live on Sky, full house, a cracking atmosphere. The supporters were outstanding from the first minute all the way through, and I think the players repaid them by their performance.  

“It takes time. We've had a lot of new players come into the squad; a new manager, new assistant manager. For them to implement the ideas of how they want to play, it doesn't happen overnight, but it's happening now, and we can see that every day in training. 

“The boys are training with a real spring in their step, they're getting the ideas that we're trying to put across to them, and thankfully they've put it into practice in the last two or three games. We're definitely moving in the right direction.”