Scarr's Charlton Preview

Standing at six-foot-two and cutting an imposing figure, there is plenty for attackers to worry about when faced with playing against Argyle’s Dan Scarr.

But even the burly Argyle centre-back has been feeling the heat of playing and training during the recent hot weather.

With temperatures exceeding 30 degrees for many days in a row, the Argyle squad played twice against Peterborough last week, the second game yielding a performance just as scorching as the temperatures.

Scarr and his team-mates had to dig deep to produce a superb 2-0 win over The Posh in Sky Bet League One, even if it took something out of them - literally. 

“We do our bodyweight before and after, and sometimes it’s about two kilos difference, which is quite a lot to be sweating out,” Scarr told Argyle TV. “It’s hard to stay hydrated and it’s hard to sleep at night, as everyone has had to deal with. It can sometimes make you feel a bit lethargic in training.

“With all of that, to put on a performance like that on Saturday – we’ve done well there.”

Against Posh, Scarr and his fellow defenders were tasked with looking after Jonson Clarke-Harris, someone Peterborough paid over £1m for from Bristol Rovers two season ago, as well as experienced strike partner Jack Marriott.

The mean, Green defence kept them out, but will have to quickly remuster to face Charlton Athletic this Tuesday, with their attack likely to be led by Jayden Stockley, who scored 20 goals for the Addicks last season.

Scarr and co look set to try to employ similar tactics to keep another dangerous frontline quiet.

“Our game plan on Saturday was to move them about, keep squeezing the line,” he said. “The further we can get them away from the goal, the more running they’ve got to do, the quicker they’ll burn out.

“We will try to keep them far from the goal, make them work to get into the box. We’ll stay tight and try to shut out as much as we can. Good strikers are going to have chances, that’s why they are in good teams getting paid the money they do. It’s tough, but it’s a good challenge as well.

“They look like they have a strong side; they had a strong side last season and they’ve added to it. We expect them to pass and move a lot more, they’ll have good rotation, but ultimately, I think if we are on it and we do what we do well, it will be set up for a good game.”

The game will likely be attended by over a thousand members of the Green Army. Last season, they mustered over 3,000, but with the fixture falling on a Tuesday this time, numbers are understandably down. However, Scarr knows they will still make their voices heard, and reiterated just how important that can be, especially to tiring players.

“At a place like that, they’ll have a lot of fans, but a thousand [of the Green Army] together in a small area packs a hell of a punch,” Scarr said. “On Saturday, because it was so tiring, when someone made a good pass and they were cheering it on, you got a little goosebump, a pump of adrenaline.

“That’s what we will need Tuesday, too. It will be a tough game, we’ll need them on our side to push us on.”