Scarr's Sheffield Wednesday Preview
Another Sky Bet League One fixture, another big challenge for table-topping Argyle and for their central centre-back, Dan Scarr.
On Tuesday night, at Home Park, Sheffield Wednesday come to visit, with The Owls on good form, just two points behind Argyle and with a squad as strong as any we are likely to face this season.
Dan, though, is a man always up for a challenge, and he may well get that from a Wednesday striker Scarr named as one of his toughest opponents last season.
Lee Gregory might only have one goal from his seven starts and two substitute appearances this season, but the 34-year-old forward is about more than that. His experience and strength could be a vital asset for Wednesday if he is selected for the game.
Although he did not net in any of the four matches Argyle and The Owls played in last season, Gregory did notch 17 goals in the campaign, and can look back to a game in November 2015 when he scored four goals for Millwall in a cup tie at Home Park.
The potential battle between Scarr and Gregory comes after games in which Argyle’s number 6 has faced former Pilgrim Freddie Ladapo of Ipswich Town, and Wycombe’s Sam Vokes, so the challenges are racking up for Dan. He, however, is relishing it.
“I am just enjoying myself,” he told Argyle TV. “All the games coming up, I am buzzing to get to the next game. That’s a good place to be in. I just try my best and some days it works better than others.
“Sometimes you have a striker that wants to drop in all the time, some want to play on your shoulder and run in behind. It’s fresh having something new to deal with. I look forward to dealing with every striker that the Gaffer says: ‘you need to mark him’.
“When we played [Wednesday] at home last season, and we won 3-0, [Gregory’s] movement was good, he was strong holding it up. He’s a Championship player really. I thought he was one of the ones who made me feel the most uncomfortable. I still enjoyed playing against him, but some strikers you can second guess what they are going to do as the play is happening. With him, I had to stay on my toes and be alert, which is a good thing. It keeps you concentrating so you don’t get complacent.
“It's mentally draining having to concentrate for that long. If you slip up or are not concentrating, it can cost you. You are playing against good teams and they can punish you quickly.”
At Home Park this season, in league action, Argyle have won all of their five games, conceding just one goal.
Naturally, Scarr credits those around him and the team as a whole for the strong start to the season at Pilgrims HQ, and says that the whole dressing is looking forward to the challenge Sheffield Wednesday will pose.
“We are doing well as a team,” said Scarr. “I get a lot of help from other players. I might have a good game, but it’s the stuff in front of me that stops balls into feet, the line being squeezed so they don’t have gaps to play in, and not getting stretched form the sides. It all helps.
“[Mike Cooper] is unbelievable. At the moment, we are playing well and defending well and although we try to limit it as much as we can, sometimes they are going to get through. But then they have to get past him. He’s a good confidence to have behind you.
“I love playing under the lights. It’s another big club coming down, another sell-out crowd, everyone will be up for it. In general, I’m just looking forward to every game that’s happening at the moment. All the lads are in the same place, and the Gaffer is buzzing for these games. It goes right through the changing rooms. I’m really looking forward to it.”
