Argyle face 'long, hard, painful road' - Cleverley

Tom Cleverley has seen Plymouth Argyle take four points from their last six League One matches

Plymouth Argyle head coach Tom Cleverley says it could take a long time for the club to turn around their poor form.

The Pilgrims were beaten for a fourth successive game as they lost 2-0 at Wycombe Wanderers in the FA Cup first round.

Argyle, who are in the relegation places in League One, have not won in five matches as they struggle to adapt to life back in the third tier after two seasons in the Championship.

"This ain't an overnight fix, let me tell you that for absolute sure," Cleverley told BBC Radio Devon, when asked how he can turn his side's malaise around.

"This is not a magic wand moment - this is a long, hard, painful road that will take months, will take transfer windows, and I'm willing to roll my sleeves up and be part of that."

Plymouth Argyle fans made their unhappiness known to goalkeeper Conor Hazard and striker Lorent Tolaj after the game

Cleverley's side were jeered by sections of the away support at Adams Park following their FA Cup defeat.

The loss dashed any hopes of a repeat of last season's run in the competition when they beat two Premier League sides - Brentford and six-time European champions Liverpool were both toppled by the Pilgrims before they bowed out at Manchester City in the fifth round.

"[It was] a hugely disappointing performance," Cleverley added.

"We wanted a reaction from our last three league games, we needed a reaction and I think we were nowhere near it in any aspect today. We were, to a man, well beaten.

"We competed, but physically not at the profile of our opposition.

"From a quality perspective I thought they were much better than us. We didn't show any confidence on the ball, we didn't show any good technique.

"I've really focused recently on a defensive perspective but, from a quality perspective, we were so far off the level."

Cleverley says he is particularly worried about the resilience of his side.

Having won League One with a club-record 101 points in 2023 Argyle struggled in the Championship - they stayed up on the final day of the season in 2024 before being relegated with a game to spare in May.

The former Manchester United and England player feels those circumstances - Argyle lost 43 of their 92 games in the Championship - are still having an effect.

"We've not dealt with disappointment well," he said.

"That's the area where I've really seen a hangover from two years of losing a lot of football matches - when we do go behind there seems to be a bit of an acceptance of that.

"So that's been disappointing and it's a mentality we need to change."