Schumacher's Morecambe Preview

When Argyle take the field against Morecambe on Saturday, it will be the first time in 10 weeks that the Pilgrims play on a Saturday at Home Park.

Argyle will be hoping for several returns to normality, not just the day on which the game is played. After nine straight home victories, the Greens lost last time out on Sky Bet League One, going down 2-0 on a Friday night against Port Vale.

On that occasion, manager Steven Schumacher was serving a one-match touchline ban, but the boss will be back he belongs, in the home dugout, for the Shrimps’ visit.

In the away dugout will be a familiar face. Derek Adams, who was the Pilgrims manager for four largely successful seasons, is the current Morecambe boss, in his second stint with the club.

“It feels like a long time ago,” said Schumacher of the return to playing on a Saturday at 3pm. “It is what everybody looks forward to: Saturday afternoons, going to watch your team. Hopefully we can put on a performance that was better than the last time we played here.

“I’m looking forward to being down on the sideline. I missed the last one, and it didn’t feel great not being on the touchline when the crowd is full. I didn’t feel part of the game.

“The most important thing is to try to get a better performance. We didn’t play well against Port Vale. They were the better team. We actually created a few chances in that game, but didn’t take them. We need to take the chances we create against what will be a very organised Morecambe side.

“Everybody here knows how well Derek sets his teams up. Defensively they are hard to break down. Looking that their results this year, they have only won a couple, but they have drawn nine games, which shows they are competitive. They have quality in their team that can score goals.

“We need to be patient. We need to start games well, but if it is getting a little bit tricky, and we have to find a way to break them down. We need to keep our patience, our discipline, and hope someone shows a bit of quality to go and win the game.”

It has been an exceptionally cold week in Plymouth – indeed, everywhere in the country – meaning that standard preparation for Saturday has still not been straightforward, but Schumacher said his adaptable squad will not see it as an issue, and will be fully focused on getting back to winning ways at Home Park.

“The conditions have been tricky,” Schumacher said. “We had to call one off in midweek, training was put back a couple of hours on Thursday to give the pitches a chance to thaw out a little bit. Everybody up and down the country is having to deal with these issues at the moment. It’s been eventful.

“Our players will be ok. They’ll be prepared, and ready to go against Morecambe on Saturday.”