Under-18s v Forest Green (A) | Preview

Argyle Under-18s return to action after a three-week gap without a fixture, as they meet Forest Green Rovers on Saturday morning.

The young Pilgrims make the trip to Gloucestershire as the leaders in the Youth Alliance League, in the knowledge that their earlier game against Forest Green ended in a 4-0 win to Argyle.

Manager Jamie Lowry said that his players are keen to get back into action after their break, but said there is a constant reminder that their position in the league, and their status, will make them a scalp in opponents’ eyes.

“It’s something we talk about quite regularly, especially with the first team going into the Championship,” Lowry said. “With Bournemouth leaving our games programme, we are seen as the bigger Club in the games programme. Teams maybe do add that little extra 5, 10 per cent in their games, try and get one over on us, especially with us being top of the league at the moment as well.

“It's something that we talk about; being able to deal with expectations, being able to deal with the pressures of being the team at the top. It’s all part of their learning, all part of their development as players, and it's something that they've got to handle, if you're going to play at this football club.

“The boys got a chance to go and spend a little time with their families and they've come back fully charged, ready to go into the last bit of season for us.

“They had a little bit of programme to work on over Christmas, so they didn't completely rest for 10 days. They're ready to go into the first game and get back into the swing of things.

“[It’ll be] a very difficult game. They've had a good couple of results, they've had two wins out of the last two games before Christmas, so they're coming into it in really good form.  I've watched the last two games, and they were a real handful. They probably should have won by more.

“There'll be lots of energy; they work really hard. They look like they've got a team bond going again and a bit of team ethic. We'll have to match all that plus our quality to get the win.”