Schumacher's Ipswich Preview

Steven Schumacher is hoping for a repeat performance of one of the best games of the season so far when Argyle meet Ipswich Town at Portman Road this Saturday.

Argyle lead the division, with Ipswich third, and when they met at Home Park it was a game befitting two of the leading sides in Sky Bet League One. Argyle won the game 2-1 on that occasion, and in watching the game in preparation for the rematch, Argyle boss Schumacher said that his side are preparing for a tough a challenge as they will face this season.

“I’m excited about it,” sad Schumacher. “I think it'll be a great occasion. If the game's anywhere near the standard of the game that it was when we played them at Home Park, then it should be exciting.

“The first game was excellent. It was played in a good spirit. Two teams went at it and we came out on top. We managed to get score two great goals in a game that could have gone either way.

“I watched that back this week and yet the quality on show from both sides was really good for League One, and we're expecting something similar.

“Ipswich are one of the most dangerous teams in the division. They've got so many good players. Defensively they're organised and solid as well as you would expect. It’s going to be a hard game, but hopefully it's an exciting one.

“We'll go there with the same mindset of trying to be aggressive and try and go ahead and get a good result.”

Ipswich, managed by Kieran McKenna, have added to their squad during the January window, as have Argyle. Town’s recruits include striker Nathan Broadhead, signed from Everton having been on loan at Wigan Athletic; George Hurst, on loan from Leicester City; and experienced midfielder Massimo Luongo, who was released from Middlesbrough.

It means McKenna’s side have a deeper squad, filled with quality – but then again, Argyle have made five signings of their own to bolster Schumacher’s options. In addition, Finn Azaz will travel with the Pilgrims for the first time after 11 weeks out injured, adding another choice for the manager. He admits that picking a starting 11 and a bench of seven from the players he has available is going to be a different kind of challenge for him.

“Our squad is looking good, looking strong,” he said.

“He's a quality player, Finn. He’s had a full week of training and looks sharp. He looks as though he's moving well. It's going to take him a bit of time to get up to full match speed, we understand that, so picking and choosing the right games to put him in and, and how many minutes he plays, is going to be important. Just having him available gives everybody a bit of a boost because he's so important to us.

“It also gives me a bit of a headache because I think I've got 21 fit players, for the first time. This is new for me, to have a full squad to choose from. I haven't got to use any real young players in the squad, that's something I'm going to have to learn, to make good decisions even for the bench, which is a real good problem to have.

“It's a challenge, going up against one of the best managers and best coaches in the country.  It’s what you want, it’s the games you want to be involved in. I'm sure it won't be all straightforward. I'm sure Kieran’s watched us as well and knows that we've got our strengths and we can be a threat to them.

“I don't think they're making those types of signings if they're not going to be part of Kieran’s plans. The team is third in the league at the moment, flying and doing well. There isn’t a need to come in and make wholesale changes, it’s not as though Ipswich have been struggling. Maybe their new lads, a bit like ours, have to wait for their opportunity. Their squad is strong in all areas, so whatever team they pick, we’re going to be up against it.

“I don't think they'll change too much about what they do. They've got a clear style and identity of how they like to play and how they’d like to pass the ball. We'll have to figure out a way of trying to stop that. I don't think it'll be too dissimilar to what we've seen early on in the season.

“It's trying to figure out how to nullify the opposition and then where you feel you can get the better of them.”

Portman Road is likely to be filled to the brim, and those numbers will include more than 2,000 members of the Green Army. Schumacher wants them to make their voices heard, and knows the home crowd are likely to be vociferous too.

He said: “We have to think about that because their crowd is similar to our crowd: they play a huge part and can influence things.

“We need to try and manage that, especially early on in the game. We know we're going to come under spells of pressure, that's understandable. It's how we manage those spells. We're going to need all the experience that we've got on the pitch to calm everyone down.

“We're going to need some energy on the pitch as well, because you can't go to Portman Road and just defend for 90 minutes. We’re going to have to take the ball, be brave, and give them something to worry about too.”