Plymouth need to keep squad together - Cleverley
Plymouth Argyle head coach Tom Cleverley says the club must hang onto the bulk of their squad for next season.
Tom Cleverley's first season at Plymouth Argyle ended with an eighth-placed finish in League One [Shutterstock] Plymouth Argyle head coach Tom Cleverley says the club must keep the bulk of their squad for next season. The Pilgrims narrowly missed out on a play-off place despite a final day win at Northampton Town in League One. Argyle brought in 16 new players last summer - as well as appointing Cleverley as head coach - following relegation from the Championship and were bottom of the table in November.
But an excellent run of form in which they lost just two of their final 16 games saw Argyle come within touching distance of the play-offs. "We have to, as a football club, do everything we can to make sure that as many of these players that are here are [still here] next year," Cleverley told BBC Radio Devon. "That includes the out of contract ones, that includes the loan players, so I'm really happy with the dynamics, the balance of the squad and we'll be working as hard as we can to because consistency is key.
"Lincoln didn't get up in year three of Michael Skubala's reign by changing the whole squad every season, they built to a season that created 103 points. "We've certainly laid some good foundations to build on that's for sure. " 'Not surprised' by interest in Tolaj Lorent Tolaj's goal helped Plymouth Argyle come from 2-0 down to beat Northampton Town 3-2 in their final day clash [Shutterstock] One player who will garner attention from other sides is top scorer Lorent Tolaj.
The 24-year-old Swiss striker moved to Argyle on a four-year deal in late August for a fee believed to be in excess of £1m. He scored 22 goals in 39 appearances in all competitions and has been linked with a number of Championship sides. "Tolly's a very good player, but if there was any progressed interest, I'd expect mine or Derek Adams' (director of football) phone to be going, whether that was to touch base or ask for a reference.