Schumacher's Derby Preview

They say that success is often defined by how you react to your mistakes.

With a 2-0 success at Home Park on Saturday against Charlton, Argyle kept up a statistic which might some way to explaining why they are where they are, second in the Sky Bet League One table.

The statistic in question: when the Pilgrims have lost in the league this season – just five times – they have not lost the next game. In fact, of the five ‘bounce’ games, Argyle have won four and drawn one.

It is a stat that clearly pleases manager Steven Schumacher.

He told Argyle TV: “The way that the players have responded and the way we've reacted, getting 13 points from the five games right after the five defeats. That's a really good record and it shows that we don't dwell on things. The odd bad performance that we have had has been maybe a blip.

“We put in a good performance on Saturday, but that's gone now and we need to make sure that our standards are right for Tuesday night because Derby County are coming here as one of the best teams in the division.”

On the subject of reactions and comebacks, Derby away in September is one of the defining days of the season so far. Argyle fell 2-0 by half-time at Pride Park, but goals from Morgan Whittaker and a debut double by Sam Cosgrove gave Argyle a seemingly unlikely victory.

Not long after that, Derby switched managers, employing Paul Warne in place of previous interim boss Liam Rosenior. They are currently fifth in League One, ten points behind Argyle and still harbouring promotion ambitions.

In prepping for this encounter, Schumacher looked back to September, and that extraordinary 3-2 win, although he feels that much has changed going into the return match.

“I can't see there being too much comparison from the game,” he said. “They're completely different now because Paul Warne went in a couple of games after that.

“What I do remember from that game is that we were really good on the day.

“Even though we went in 2-0 behind, I remember going in at half-time thinking: ‘we're still in this game’. Thankfully, we had enough in us to go and get three goals in the second half. Sam Cosgrove scored two late on, which was a brilliant start for him, on his debut.

“It was a good day, that one.

“Now, they have a completely different sort of style and we know what Paul Warne’s teams are always like. They're always super fit, really well organised and, since he's been in there, they've been on an upward trajectory.

“Against a strong Derby County squad, everyone's got to be on top of their game. They’ve got so many good players and such a strong squad. We have to forget about all of that. Forget about starting a run, just focus on trying to win this next game.”

Winning games is something Argyle have become used to at Home Park this season. The Greens have won 15 out of their 17 games in PL2, drawing one and losing one of the other two.

Schumacher detailed some of the factors he believes have gone into this spectacular statistic.

“It's a really good record, and it’s one we're really proud of,” he said. “Everybody plays their part in it. The players, first and foremost, are going out and performing to get us the amount of points that we've had.

“The fans play a huge part in it. They are coming in and backing us, sticking with the team. We've rewarded them with points.

“A lot of teams don't really like coming down here, so we have to take advantage of that and get as many points as we can. People forget we have to travel so far every other week, sometimes twice in the same week. That takes a lot out of you. The points that we can get away from home are massively important, but it's even more important that we get as many as we can here.

“We know where our strengths are. When we get it right here at home, we play with a real good tempo, a good energy and try and get on the front foot and get some atmosphere going.

“We’re a hard team to stop, we've got quality players. If they're on it and they're playing to their best, then we can cause teams problem here.

“It's not easy in every single home game, but somehow we've managed to find answers, and we've got 15 wins out of 17, which is a brilliant record; one that most teams in the country would be really proud of.”