Plymouth Argyle

Brent Pilnick
BBC Sport England

Image source, Rex Features

Plymouth Argyle will fly to their Championship away match at Norwich City on Tuesday.

The 700-mile round-trip is one of the longest away journeys Argyle face this season - only Sunderland is further.

It takes around an hour for a flight from Exeter airport to Norwich, rather than around eight or nine hours in a coach.

The team will fly up on Monday and return on Wednesday for the game, which kicks off at 19:45 GMT on Tuesday.

"We had to be in the air by 11pm after the game, and there was no way we'd have done that, so we're going to stay over and then fly back Wednesday morning," head coach Wayne Rooney said after his side's 2-2 draw with Watford on Friday.

"It's good for us to be flying, but whether it was flying or by coach, we have to prepare right and make sure we do the best to try and get a result."

Brent Pilnick
BBC Sport England

Image source, Rex Features

Never leave a Plymouth Argyle match early - eight of the last nine points the Pilgrims have won have been down to goals in the final 10 minutes.

Andre Gray's superb curling equaliser in the sixth minute of stoppage time in the draw with Watford on Friday night proved that while Wayne Rooney's side may not be at the right end of the table, they do not know when they are beaten.

Since Morgan Whittaker's dramatic 97th-minute goal secured a 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers on 5 October three of the four games where they have avoided defeat have been because of late goals.

Without those late goals Argyle could well be six points worse off, leaving them bottom of the table on 11 points alongside Queens Park Rangers.

Gray and Whittaker found the net in the final 10 minutes to claw back a point having been 3-1 down at home to Preston North End three weeks after the Blackburn win.

Michael Obafemi's 82nd-minute strike was enough to get just a fourth league win of the season as they beat Portsmouth 1-0 at Home Park early this month - a victory which lifted Argyle out of the relegation places.

Adam Randell's goal early in the second half bucked the trend in the 1-1 draw at Derby County prior to the international break, before Gray's heroics on Friday night.

The striker - who was a free agent after ending a spell in Saudi Arabia in the summer - scored a brilliant double, his winner coming after a first-half volley that Rooney described as "world class".

Image source, Plymouth Argyle FC

Plymouth Argyle's new £23m academy will be named Foulston Park.

The club is currently redeveloping Brickfields - the home of Plymouth Albion RFC - with the new facility set to become the home of Argyle's Women's team and Community Trust as well as the academy and the rugby club.

It will be named after John Foulston, an architect who helped design and develop Plymouth in the early 1800s.

“Foulston’s legacy is about transformation and ambition, which aligns perfectly with what we are building here and why the name resonates so much with everything we are trying to do," Argyle chief executive Andrew Parkinson said.

“The facilities here will support Argyle’s growth by improving how we recruit, retain, and develop future players as well as strengthening the connection between the club, its supporters and communities.

"It’s a core part of our vision to build on our success in developing homegrown talent as well as being an incredibly exciting prospect to find the next Adam Randell or Freddie Issaka.”

Image source, Rex Features

Plymouth Argyle centre-back Lewis Gibson could return to action in Friday's Championship clash with Watford.

The highly-rated defender, 24, has been out for a month with a thigh injury.

Gibson had been an ever-present in the Argyle side before he was hurt in the 1-0 loss at Millwall.

"He's trained for the last couple of days, so he should be available," head coach Wayne Rooney told BBC Radio Devon.

"Whether or not he starts the game, that's a different question. But he's trained for the last few days and looked OK so he'll hopefully be available."

Rooney also hopes that Brendan Galloway and goalkeeper Conor Hazard could return to training in the next couple of weeks after injury.

But captain Joe Edwards, Muhamed Tijani and Ibrahim Cissoko are not expected to be back until at least January.

Image source, Getty Images

Plymouth Argyle defender Victor Palsson played the full 90 minutes of Iceland's 4-1 loss to Wales in Cardiff.

Two first-half goals by Liam Cullen and second-half strikes from Brennan Johnson and Harry Wilson ensured Wales topped their pool and won promotion to the top level of the Nations League.

Iceland finish third in their group, four points behind Turkey, and will go into a play-off with a side second in League C to determine which level they will play in next season.

Meanwhile, fellow Pilgrims defender Kornel Szucs was an unused substitute as Hungary drew 1-1 with Germany in Budapest.

The result sees the Hungarians finish third in their League A pool and face a relegation play-off.

Also an unused substitute was Argyle forward Mustapha Bundu in Sierra Leone's 2-0 loss to Zambia in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

The loss means Sierra Leone miss out on qualification for next year's tournament after finishing third in their group behind Zambia and Ivory Coast.

Image source, Getty Images

Plymouth Argyle defender Victor Palsson helped Iceland to a 2-0 win in Montenegro in their Uefa Nations League B match.

The 33-year-old, who has played six times for the Pilgrims since joining in the summer, came on as a 19th-minute substitute for injured captain Aron Gunnarsson and played the rest of the game.

Iceland scored twice in the final 16 minutes to consolidate third place in their group behind Wales and Turkey.

Should Iceland beat Wales in Cardiff on Tuesday they would move into second place and earn a promotion play-off.

Meanwhile, fellow Argyle defender Kornel Szucs was an unused substitute as Hungary were beaten 4-0 by the Netherlands in Amsterdam.

Liverpool's Cody Gakpo was among the scorers as the second-placed Dutch opened up a three-point gap to third-placed Hungary.

Szucs' side face group leaders Germany in their final game on Tuesday - the Germans have already done enough to top the group.

Image source, Rex Features

Plymouth Argyle forward Mustapha Bundu helped Sierra Leone to a 1-1 draw with Chad in their latest Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

The 27-year-old started the tie, which was being played in Abidjan in in Cote d'Ivoire, and played more than an hour.

An Abu Diaby penalty gave Bundu's side a 29th-minute lead before Chad's Mahamat Thiam equalised five minutes later.

Sierra Leone side are third in their four-team qualifying group with five points from five games.

They need group leaders Cote d'Ivoire to beat second-placed Zambia on Friday to keep any realistic hopes of qualification alive.

Meanwhile, Argyle youngster Freddie Issaka provided an assist as Wales Under-19's beat Scotland 1-0 in their European Championship qualifier.

Image source, Rex Features

Wayne Rooney says he is grateful for the reception he got on his return to former club Derby County.

The Plymouth Argyle head coach led his side to a 1-1 draw at Pride Park as he came back to the club that gave him his first job as a manager for the first time since leaving more than two years ago.

Rooney was in charge as the Rams coped with financial problems that led to administration and a total of 21 points being deducted in the 2021-22 season as club were relegated to League One.

"It was strange going into the away dugout," he told BBC Radio Devon after the game.

"I'm very thankful to the fans for giving me a good reception getting off the bus and at the end of the game.

"I've had some great memories here at the football club during a very difficult period in the club's history.

"I'm sure the fans knew that in the time I was here as manager I did everything I could to try and keep the club sustained.

"I know there's a mutual respect between myself and the fans and I wish the club all the best moving forward."

Image source, Getty Images

Plymouth Argyle make the trip to Derby County in the Championship on Saturday (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

Here's a recap on the main lines from Argyle boss Wayne Rooney's pre-match news conference:

• 1-0 victory over Portsmouth was an "important win" despite not being their best performance.

• He feels that Saturday's game against Derby will be a similar game with similar challenges to their midweek match against Pompey.

• He thinks Derby have had "a good start" and has a "soft spot" for the club where he ended his playing career in the 2020-21 season before moving on to manage the Rams until 2022.

• Argyle are yet to taste victory on the road this season and Rooney says "it's very difficult in this league to win away from home".

• "50-50" as to whether Adam Randell will be fit enough to feature at the weekend.

• Lewis Gibson and Conor Hazard hopefully back for Watford game on 22 November following international break.

Image source, Rex Features

Plymouth Argyle defender Julio Pleguezuelo says the late 1-0 win over Portsmouth has given them the belief they can get their first away win.

The Pilgrims achieved their first victory in five games on Tuesday as Michael Obafemi's late goal secured three points for an at-times lacklustre Argyle.

But the Pilgrims have yet to win on the road this season - their record of one draw and six losses is the worst away record in the second tier.

They travel to a newly-promoted Derby side with head coach Wayne Rooney returning to the Rams for the first time since leaving the club in 2022.

"It's given us a lot of confidence going into the game on Saturday," the Spaniard told BBC Radio Devon.

"We expect a very tough game, we can see ourselves with Derby being a similar team, the same kind of objective, so it's really important to go out there and get the three points.

"We talk a lot about the fact that we haven't won away yet and our away form is not great. But we're sure we're going to come with the right plan to try and take the three points.

"We just have to keep building our confidence and gain momentum playing away from home and we're gong to get there."

Image source, Rex Features

Plymouth Argyle head coach Wayne Rooney has labelled Coventry City's decision to sack long-serving manager Mark Robins as "crazy", while Oxford City head coach Des Buckingham has called the revolving managerial door within the EFL "scary".

Robins was appointed Sky Blues manager in 2017 for his second stint at the club but saw his contracted terminated on Thursday after suffering a poor start to the season.

"I think it's crazy, I really do," Rooney told BBC Radio Devon.

"What he's done over the last few years for Coventry City - I think it's two play-off finals, an FA Cup semi-final, consistently had them in a good position in the league.

"Then he loses his job maybe because of a few bad results, I think it's absolutely crazy."

The departure of Robins means that Derby County manager Paul Warne, who was appointed in 2022, is now the longest-serving manager in the Championship.

"You never like to see anyone lose their job, especially Mark Robins who's been there for years, but that is nature of this role," Oxford boss Buckingham said.

"I haven't even been here a year yet and I sit quite highly in among the longest serving managers across the English Football League, which is pretty scary."

Image source, Rex

Plymouth Argyle midfielder Adam Randell is rated as "50-50" to be fit for the Pilgrims' Championship trip to Derby County.

The 24-year-old has been out since the 3-3 draw with Preston last month with a thigh injury, missing the last two matches.

He is the only player on Argyle's lengthy injury list with a chance of returning before the international break.

Long-term casualties Ibrahim Cissoko, Joe Edwards and Muhamed Tijani are not expected to return until the new year, while Lewis Gibson is also out with a thigh injury until after the international break.

Goalkeeper Connor Hazard could also make a return before Christmas from his ankle injury.

"He's 50-50, but probably more of a doubt to play on Saturday," head coach Wayne Rooney told BBC Radio Devon when asked about Randell.

"We'll try him tomorrow in training and see how he is.

"Other than that no-one else will return."