Schumacher's Burton Preview

Argyle head into this Saturday’s game against Burton Albion with a simple equation facing them: win and get promoted.

As tasks go, it is both sublimely simple and incredibly difficult. For the club with the best home record in the country, such a task is one you dream of.

All that said, Burton Albion are a side in form, and one who have already denied Argyle a victory this season, when an injury-time equaliser grabbed them a 2-2 draw in the game in Staffordshire.

Argyle boss Steven Schumacher is excited at the prospect of playing for the promotion, but is more than aware of the threats of a side that have achieved several good results against leading sides in Sky Bet League One of late.

The Greens are in good form of their own, though, winning four games in succession, including two this week at Home Park, against Cambridge United and Bristol Rovers.

“We've put ourselves in a brilliant position over the last couple of home games,” said Schumacher.

“We've got maximum points, which was excellent. We performed really well to get them. We know now that if we perform to the levels that we know that we're capable of and we go and get another maximum points on Saturday, then we've achieved the objective.

“We also know that it's a really difficult game and we have to play really well if we're going to win it.

“I think they're a threat. They're in really good form at the moment. Just in the last few weeks, they've beaten Lincoln away from home, which hardly anyone ever does. They've beaten Sheffield Wednesday, they've beaten Barnsley, they've drawn with Bolton. They're a real strong team, and the key to that is to be as organised as possible.

“We’ll try to hurt them in areas that we feel they might be susceptible to getting punished. We know we need to play well.”

Schumacher says the tempo and passing verve that his team have played with this week has been their key to achieving maximum points at home, along with the support from the Green Army.

Another sold-out – and possibly expectant – crowd lies in wait on Saturday, and the manager has a simple message to them: stick with us.

“In the past few games, we've passed the ball really well here,” he said. “We're going to need to do that again on Saturday because when we play with that energy and that tempo, we move the ball as quick as we can then we are a tough team to stop as well.

“That energy that we've played with has been really good. This is the third game in a week so it's going to take a big ask for the players to get to that level, but the players know what's at stake, so they should be highly motivated. If we continue to play that way and we keep trying to do the right things and not get frustrated and change how we play, just trying to stick to the plan, then we'll be all right.

“We felt that, especially in the Cambridge game, we might have possession of the ball and we needed to stay patient and work our angles to try and break them down.

“That turned out to be the case on Tuesday night as well against Bristol Rovers who had a man sent off and then defended really well for a long period. Our crowd stuck with us. They didn't get impatient and start getting edgy.

“I know Saturday's game, there's a lot riding on it, so naturally people are going to have a little bit of tension in the air, but all I would say is just keep trying to bring the atmosphere and the noise because it does inspire the players.

“It gives them that little bit of confidence boost that they might need. If it isn't going to plan, then stick with us for as long as possible because as this team's shown, we keep going right the way until the very end.

“It's going to be another challenge that's ahead of us and if the players can rise to the challenge, then it's going to be a brilliant achievement.”