Plymouth Argyle

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Miron Muslic says he is still positive despite Plymouth Argyle's perilous position at the bottom of the Championship.

The Pilgrims played out a goalless draw at Watford on Saturday for just their ninth point on the road this season.

The result was just a second clean sheet away from home all season but Argyle remain six points from safety with seven games to play - including home games against the top two Sheffield United and Leeds United.

But head coach Muslic - who has led Argyle to five of those nine away points including their first away league win at Portsmouth earlier this month - says he still has hope Plymouth can survive.

"I'm still, as always, very optimistic and very positive, it's my job," he said.

"Imagine me with my head down, imagine me not positive, imagine me not leading, then we can just close and go for pre-season to Austria. That's not the plan."

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Plymouth Argyle boss Miron Muslic said his side need to be more clinical when they get into dangerous attacking positions following the 0-0 draw against Watford at Vicarage Road.

"We were almost perfect in the first half in not allowing Watford a shot on target," Muslic told BBC Radio Devon. "The lads were brilliant.

"They are a very good team with a fantastic home record so it's not easy to keep them out. It's a point and we take it - they are a good team.

"The next step is to reward ourselves with goals. We created so many good things due to good structure.

"We had a lot of opportunities but we needed to be a bit calmer and show more efficiency. We need to be more clinical with the positions we created.

"If we had given Watford the same chances that we had, I think they would have taken them."

Watford return to Championship action at home to Plymouth on Saturday (12:30 GMT) with a five point gap separating them from the play-off places.

Plymouth are six points adrift of safety so there is plenty at stake at Vicarage Road.

• Watford are unbeaten across their past five league games against Plymouth Argyle (W2 D3), keeping three clean sheets during that time.

• Plymouth Argyle have lost just one of their past five away league games against Watford (W2 D2), conceding just three goals across those visits to Vicarage Road.

• After losing each of their five home league games between late December and early February, Watford have now won two of their past three at Vicarage Road, while keeping a clean sheet in both wins.

• Plymouth won their last away league game 2-1 against Portsmouth, and will be looking to win successive away matches in England's second tier for the first time since April 2010.

• Plymouth have conceded 77 goals this season, the most of any side in the Championship. Only three times previously have the Pilgrims conceded more goals after 38 games of a Football League campaign (86 in 1946-47 & 1959-60 and 79 in 1954-55).

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Plymouth Argyle defender Nikola Katic featured in Bosnia and Herzegovina's 2-1 win over Cyprus in Monday's Fifa World Cup qualifier.

The 28-year-old came off the bench for the final 20 minutes of the game in Zenica as the Bosnians won for the second successive match to go top of their group.

Meanwhile, Argyle midfielder Darko Gyabi featured for England's Under-20 side in their 2-2 draw with Switzerland in Spain.

The 21-year-old, who is on loan at Home Park from Leeds United, replaced Manchester United midfielder Toby Collyer for the final 30 minutes.

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Plymouth Argyle forward Mustapha Bundu scored for Sierra Leone on Thursday night as they beat Guinea-Bissau 3-1 in the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualification stages.

The 28-year-old latched on to a poor backpass from a Guinea-Bissau defender and rounded the keeper to give his side the lead.

Bundu, who has scored six times for Plymouth this season, also has four international goals to his name since making his debut in August 2018.

Elsewhere, Plymouth defender Victor Palsson featured in Iceland's 2-1 Uefa Nations League defeat by Kosovo, but Maksym Talovierov missed out on Ukraine's excellent win over Belgium, after being sent home on Tuesday, external due to a knee injury.

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Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper Zak Baker has agreed a one-year contract extension.

The 20-year-old is a product of the Pilgrims' academy and has been with the club for nine years.

He is still yet to make a senior appearance, featuring on the bench five times this season, most recently against Burnley in January, but has since been sidelined with a knee injury.

"Yeah, I'm absolutely buzzing," Baker told the club website, external. "This is my third professional contract which shows I am doing the right things.

"I am really enjoying working with the group of goalkeepers we currently have. I obviously worked with Conor [Hazard] last year, but Daniel Grimshaw has come in as well and added a lot.

"He has been around some of the best goalkeepers in the world so there is plenty to pick his brain on to help my development.

"I'm looking forward to getting back fit and continuing to grow and learn from the other goalkeepers and Darryl [Flahavan, goalkeeper coach]."

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Plymouth Argyle forward Mustapha Bundu says his side have "eight finals left" in their bid for Championship survival.

The 28-year-old's excellent first-half free-kick drew Argyle back into the match in their eventual 3-2 defeat at home by fellow strugglers Derby County on Saturday.

The loss leaves Argyle rooted to the foot of the table and six points from safety.

"After half-time, I thought we controlled the game after it went 2-2 and then one little mistake and we conceded a goal," Bundu told BBC Radio Devon.

"We gave everything at the end.

"[We're] very disappointed as it was a game we were very positive about getting a good result in because we wanted to build on the performance at Portsmouth.

"But now we have an international break, get some time off. Go back, reset, and eight finals to go when we get back."

Following his second goal in a week, and Bundu's sixth of the Championship campaign overall, the Sierra Leone international says there is still hope of Argyle repeating last season's final-day survival heroics.

"We were here last year and got some very big results in the last five, six games so there's points to be won - never give up," he added.

"We did it last year so we're going to give everything again."

Plymouth Argyle are looking to record back-to-back league wins for just the second time this season when they meet Derby County in the Championship on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

The Rams have won their past two games to move within one point of safety.

• Plymouth are unbeaten in their past four league meetings with Derby County (W3 D1) since a 2-1 defeat in August 2009.

• Derby have lost their past two away league games against Plymouth. Their last win at Home Park came back in February 2009 under Nigel Clough, a 3-0 victory.

• Plymouth have kept just one clean sheet in their past 12 home matches in all competitions, with that shut-out coming against current Premier League leaders Liverpool in their 1-0 FA Cup victory in February.

• Derby have not won in their last 10 away league games (D3 L7), last enduring a longer winless run between August 2019 and January 2020 (13 games).

• Derby manager John Eustace has already faced Plymouth at Home Park this season with previous club Blackburn, losing 2-1 in October.

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Plymouth head coach Miron Muslic says his players showed 'we are alive' in the relegation fight after a stunning win at Portsmouth.

Argyle ended a 20-match winless streak on the road in the league, their worst in 41 years, by holding on with 10-men through a dozen minutes of stoppage time to seal a famous win at Fratton Park which took them three points from safety.

Muslic told BBC Radio Devon: ""It is big, no doubt. I think it's a big moment for us. After being not capable to win for almost a year (since 5 April, 2024) finally we rewarded ourselves after a very tough moment against Sheffield Wednesday (a 3-0 home defeat on Saturday).

"This team showed again that we are alive and they can count on us."

Ryan Hardie returned to the side after missing six games with a back injury and laid on the first goal before scoring the second on the break.

"That was the spirit we needed, we've actually had it over the past couple of weeks, the only thing we missed was this offensive threat, this transition threat, this goal threat," Muslic said.

"Hardie was out for five or six games and we missed somebody who could run in behind. Tonight we had three players very dangerous in transition. We scored two beautiful transition goals, it all went to plan, I'm very happy.

"It feels brilliant. It was very much needed. When the fourth official told me 11 minutes (added on) I knew we were going to make it."

The Greens return to Home Park to face Derby, two points and two places above them on Saturday and Muslic added: "The next opportunity to continue is on Saturday and we have to grab this opportunity with both hands.

"It's a big one. It's always about us and not what the other team are doing.

"We are still where we are, that hasn't changed, but we are alive.

"It felt fantastic for us, I can only imagine how beautiful it was for (our travelling fans). We are in this together."

Image source, Rex Features

Plymouth Argyle's battle to avoid relegation lost momentum because of the absence of forward Ryan Hardie, according to boss Miron Muslic.

The Devon side's leading scorer returned as a substitute in Saturday's home defeat by Sheffield Wednesday, having missed their previous three Championship games as well as the FA Cup exit at Manchester City.

"One of the reasons we have struggled over the past games is because Hardie was not involved," Muslic told BBC Radio Devon.

"He is about to return and this will give us the goal threat offensively so we can continue to defend well and have this danger man up front."

Hardie has scored seven goals in all competitions for Plymouth this season, including the winner against Liverpool in the FA Cup fourth round, but picked up a back injury against Blackburn last month.

It kept him out of league draws with Luton and Cardiff and a loss at Hull City.

"We have the green light for him and he is selectable - he is not 100% but will give us the threat we need," added Muslic.

"In our competition you have to have moments where you are attacking and creating chances up front, and this momentum switched without Hardie."

Plymouth are bottom of the table and will visit Portsmouth in the Championship on Wednesday.

These two clubs have had differing fortunes as they prepare for the second Dockyard Derby of the season on Wednesday (19:45 GMT).

Portsmouth's win over Leeds at the weekend has taken them 10 points clear of the relegation zone.

Meanwhile, Plymouth have dropped to the bottom of the Championship and are six points adrift of safety.

• Portsmouth have failed to win any of their past eight league games against Plymouth Argyle (D5 L3), since a 3-0 victory at Fratton Park in September 2018.

• Plymouth Argyle have won each of their past two league games against Portsmouth and will be looking to win three in succession for the first time since 1981.

• Portsmouth have lost only one of their previous 22 midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) league games at Fratton Park (W15 D6), winning three of their five such games this season (D1 L1).

• Plymouth have failed to win any of their past 20 away league games (D5 L15); it's the first time they've failed to win 20+ successive away league matches since November 1984 (24).

• Ryan Hardie has scored four goals in his past four league appearances against Portsmouth for Plymouth, scoring a brace at Fratton Park in September 2021.

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Plymouth Argyle midfielder Malachi Boateng said he and his team-mates must keep their composure as they try and fight against relegation from the Championship.

Argyle suffered a morale-shattering 3-0 loss at home to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday to leave them six points adrift of safety with 10 games to go.

Having started well, Argyle collapsed after conceding the first goal after 15 minutes.

"We have to go again, we have to keep our heads and keep pushing," Boateng said.

"Everyone sets out with the right intentions, the right things to do, the right drive and motivation before games.

"But sometimes it doesn't recognise on the pitch. Sometimes I feel like we need to show that emotion and show that drive on the pitch, even if we go a goal down, just try and climb again."

Having gone on a run of one loss in seven games in all competitions in late January and through February - during which they moved to within one point of safety - Argyle have failed to score in their past two league matches, including a 2-0 loss at relegation rivals Hull City last week.

"Everyone wants to be as consistent as they can, no-one's got the intention of just being good one week and bad one week," said the former Hearts player, who signed a three-and-a-half year deal at Home Park last month.

"But I feel like it's a group of lads that are willing to learn as well, which is good.

"I think we need to stick together at this point."