Schumacher's Wycombe Preview

Manager Steven Schumacher has offered collective praise to his squad for Argyle’s rise to the top of Sky Bet League One.

At this relatively early stage, Argyle lead the division after ten games, having accumulated 22 points thus far.

Among many positives, the manager is attributing some of the recent form to the fact that numerous players from across the squad have provided contributions to aid the cause. It has been notable how often substitutes have come on to influence proceedings, with players obviously responding to each specific match strategy.

“The overall satisfaction is that it isn’t just one player playing well,” Schumacher told Argyle TV. “The whole squad is contributing. We’ve seen the impact the substitutes have made in the last five or six games. Whoever starts the game is performing, and then we are getting lads coming on the pitch and finishing the game plan.

“There’s no better feeling than when you put together a plan to try to get your ideas across to the players, and then it’s over to the players to go out and execute. They’re doing brilliantly at the moment, taking on the information, and they look as though they are enjoying it. That’s the main plus for me.

“Everyone is playing well, they are in good form, and playing with smiles on their faces. The long that continues, the better.”

The next stage on which Argyle’s players will seek to continue the positive form is at Wycombe Wanderers this Saturday. Wycombe are 17th, with 11 points from their 10 games so far, but Argyle have had little success against them in recent years, with The Chairboys style of play generally being effective for them.

“They’re a tough team to play against,” said Schumacher. “It’s undeniable how they play. It’s quite clear what they do and what they are good at. It’s probably the polar opposite of the type of game we just witnessed on Sunday. It will be a different test, it’s one we have to stand up to, to try to play our football when we can, and try to cause Wycombe problems.

“We are under no illusions that it’s going to be anything but a hard game, because it always is.

“They have had a slower start than would probably be expected. They’ve had injuries, but are getting a more balanced squad together now. Their players at the top end of the pitch are firing, getting going – Mehmeti in particular, he looks a really good talent.

“They will keep going, Gareth Ainsworth’s team, that’s what they do. As the season progresses they always seem to get stronger. We’ll need to be at our best to get a result at the weekend.”