Cleverley demands 'more edge and devil' from Argyle

Tom Cleverley's side have slipped to 22nd in League One

Tom Cleverley says he wants his Plymouth Argyle side to have a more aggressive edge after their 2-0 loss at Devon rivals Exeter City.

The Pilgrims were booed off by those fans that remained at full-time after a terrible performance that saw them outclassed in much of the game.

Argyle - who travel to Mansfield Town on Tuesday - have taken one point from their last three matches and are two points from safety in the relegation zone.

"We need to have more edge as a team from a competitive perspective," Cleverley told BBC Radio Devon.

"I think there's different levels of just doing enough or not making mistakes, but I think we need to go above and beyond that, where we're showing a bit more bravery with the ball, certainly a bit more aggression without the ball.

"You don't want to have the comment against you that 'you're too nice as a team' and it's something that we need to address.

"We need to be more aggressive with our runs, aggressive in our duels, aggressive with our voices and have a little bit more edge and devil in our performances."

Advice from Sir Alex

Plymouth Argyle's players cut dejected figures at St James Park on Thursday

Former England midfielder Cleverley won the Premier League with Manchester United in 2013.

It was the Red Devils' last title win and the last under legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Cleverley says the advice Ferguson gave him when he got his first managerial job at Watford last year rings true in his current situation at Home Park.

"Anyone who played, as a coach you want to see a bit of yourself in your team - it was the first thing Sir Alex told me when I got the Watford job and I do need to instil that," he said.

"I was five foot eight and not the quickest, but I don't think any opponent would have said I was nice to play against, so we need to install that.

"It's naturally in some people - it's naturally in a Caleb Roberts, it's naturally in a Bradley Ibrahim - and it's not in others.

"You can be the most laid-back guy in the week, but when you step over that white line, you need to find some edge, some devil.

"We will do some things psychologically as well as technically in the drills to try and unlock that."