Sutton (H) Foster's Reaction

When Ian Foster arrived at Home Park on Friday evening, to formally become the Plymouth Argyle head coach, he was asked by Argyle TV’s Charlie Price about the club’s Emirates FA Cup tie the following day.

Foster declared that he would have a ‘watching brief’. Between Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, things changed.

Foster decided that he would observe the game against Sutton United not from the stand, but from the dugout. From the moment he was introduced by Chairman Simon Hallett to a rapturous reception among the 15,000+ inside Home Park, Foster was a visible presence on the touchline.

He saw his new team, most of whom he met for the first time less than two hours before kick-off, take the lead through Luke Cundle in the first half, but Sutton responded, equalising through Luke Angol.

When Morgan Whittaker was felled, earning Argyle a penalty, Ryan Hardie scored from the spot to put the Greens back in the lead, and then Whittaker himself sealed the game with a late effort.

It all served to please the new head coach, who faced the press to continue his day of assuming responsibilities.

“I loved it,” said a smiling Foster. “I want to thank the fans for a fabulous reception. I really appreciate it.

“I think it was important for me, for the players and for everybody, really, that I was on the side of the pitch from the get-go.

“I'm pleased that I made the decision to be in the technical area, because I've learned so much today about the players.

“I thought it was too big an opportunity to miss in terms of seeing the players up close and personal, getting around them in the changing room, seeing what they're like at half-time. I don't think you quite get the sense when you're not around them.

“I made the decision this morning; I'm pleased I did. Regardless of the result, it was the right thing to do.”

Things were not entirely smooth for the Pilgrims. Sutton showed great fight, got their equaliser, and were frequently a threat from set-pieces and direct forward balls. Argyle had to dig deep to assert their superiority, but eventually came through to take their place in round four.

“I thought we deserved to win the game,” said Foster. “I thought it was a very difficult game. Credit to Sutton. They have a way of playing, and it's not easy to play against.

“I said to the players before the game: ‘there'll be times in the game where we'll have to suffer, and make sure we suffer together.’ I thought we did that incredibly well. I thought we coped for large parts of the game with the aerial bombardments. It's very challenging at times to deal with that and then land on second balls and then show the composure to connect the game. I thought we were a threat going the other way.

“The game offered me an opportunity to see other players from the bench, see how they could impact the game and perhaps give us a little bit more quality at times, give us some more energy. There’s parts of the game today that we can do much better. We've spoken to the players briefly afterwards about that, particularly around keeping the ball in certain times of the game. I thought we gave it away a little bit cheaply at times. 

"The big thing for me was getting to see them, getting to know them a little bit. We'll put some ideas towards them this week ahead of game at the weekend.

“I'm really grateful to Neil [Dewsnip] and Kevin [Nancekivell] for setting everything up for me to take the team today. They were really well prepped, really well organised by those guys, so I have to thank them for doing that. I'm looking forward to the next one.”