Plymouth boss' warning to Portsmouth, Stoke & Co as race for Championship survival heats up
Miron Muslic is adamant Plymouth have what it takes to maintain their Championship status.
And the Argyle head coach has cited the club’s FA Cup run as the key to unlocking the best out of his Pilgrims side.
Despite a difficult campaign in the Championship so far, Plymouth enjoyed an impressive cup run which included a gutsy 1-0 triumph over Premier League leaders Liverpool in the fourth-round, before being rewarded with a trip to Manchester City on Saturday.
Although Argyle took the lead through Maksym Talovierov before half-time at the Etihad, the Pilgrims would ultimately succumb to Pep Guardiola’s men and bow out of the competition following a 3-1 defeat.
After their triumph against Liverpool, Muslic’s side followed up the victory with a 5-1 thrashing of Millwall in the Championship - securing the new boss’ second league win as head coach at Home Park.
Following their brave display against Manchester City on Saturday evening, Plymouth are looking to continue their three-game unbeaten league run as they make the trip to relegation rivals Hull this evening, with three points guaranteed to see them move level with 21st-place Hull but below them on goal difference.
Firing a warning to Pompey and their rivals, Muslic is adamant that if his side maintain the performances seen in the FA Cup this season, they will be worrying prospect for the other clubs in the survival battle.
Speaking to the Totnes Times, he said: ‘Some memories we can keep for a lifetime, but now it's just important to leave this behind us and to take the benefit from the FA Cup. It was our togetherness, a lot of beautiful moments, a lot of celebrations and it should give us the necessary confidence boost we need to go again fully, and the next opportunity is Tuesday night.
‘I’m very happy this beautiful journey is behind us so we can refocus and find the right balance again to bounce back in the Championship. The lads managed to do this in a very strong way and managed not only to compete but also to get the three points against Millwall.
‘I think we have already the perfect example (of utilising the FA Cup to help in their relegation fight). We knew exactly what happened after Liverpool, because just three days later we needed to rebalance after this historic win and historic day to face Millwall and to be again super competitive
‘We need to have the same approach now for tonight, then also for Saturday (against Sheffield Wednesday).
‘The FA Cup gave us a lot and we should take all these good things into the Championship. If we can manage to do this on Tuesday we will be very hard to play against.’
Pompey take on Plymouth next Wednesday at Fratton Park
Plymouth make the trip to Fratton Park next Wednesday evening, with nine points currently separating the two sides.
And Muslic is confident his side are ready to take on the fight as they take on Hull, Sheffield Wednesday and the Blues within the next eight days.
He added: ‘It’s an important one again, but tell me one game in the next couple of weeks and months without this kind of importance? So I will never put too much pressure on the lads.
‘We have found a good approach over the last couple of weeks. We have lost only two games out of the last eight so we are very competitive. It's important for us to stay competitive so we can always collect points and every point is important.
‘It’s a big one on Tuesday, but it’s a big one again on Saturday and the week after (against Pompey), so stick to the plan, we are calm, we are focused and we are ready to pick up this challenge I think.’