Plymouth Argyle

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Plymouth Argyle head coach Wayne Rooney says the club could recall Saxon Earley from his season-long loan spell at Lincoln City if he does not get more game time.

The 22-year-old left-sided player has yet to make a league appearance for the Imps having suffered a back injury.

He has made one start and one substitute appearance in the EFL Trophy, with his last appearance being a 10-minute cameo off the bench when Lincoln beat non-league Chesham 4-0 in the FA Cup first round more than a month ago.

"We have to monitor it and see what options we have," Rooney said.

"If he's not playing it's something which we'd look at, of course it is," he added when asked about a recall.

"We'd bring him back and have a look at him if that's the case, and then from there make a decision whether he stays with us or we put him out on loan again.

"That's purely on where we feel he's at and where we are as a squad."

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Plymouth Argyle head coach Wayne Rooney says he and the club will benefit from Mike Phelan's experience.

The former assistant manager at Manchester United has been brought in at Argyle to work as Rooney's number two after Pete Shuttleworth left the club for personal reasons.

Rooney says it was his decision to try and get Phelan, who has also worked as manager at Hull City and had spells coaching at Blackpool and Norwich City.

Phelan coached Rooney during his time at Old Trafford and helped United to three Premier League titles, a Fifa Club World Cup, two League Cups, and two Champions League finals.

"He's got a massive amount of experience, he knows the game really well, he's managed at this level as well," Rooney told BBC Radio Devon.

"I think he'll bring great experience to us as a coaching staff.

"He's calm and calculated in how he works, which I know very well.

"He was my coach at Manchester United, so I know how he works really well and I think he'll fit in really well with the coaches we've already got."

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The postponement of their scheduled match with Oxford United on Saturday saw Plymouth slip into the Championship's relegation zone at the weekend.

With Mike Phelan joining Wayne Rooney's backroom staff, Argyle fans are hoping a change in fortunes might be just around corner and a six-game unbeaten run at Home Park is certainly something to build on.

Swansea have lost just one of their past five Championship away games and their away performances this season have them in the top 10 of the table.

• Plymouth Argyle have won just one of their past six league games against Swansea City (D1 L4), though that sole win came in their most recent match against the Swans in February earlier this year (1-0).

• Swansea City are unbeaten across their past three away league games against Plymouth Argyle (W2 D1), and could record four in a row against the Pilgrims for the first time since 1938.

• Swansea have won both of their past two midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) league games, last winning three in a row in November 2021.

• Plymouth boss Wayne Rooney has only won one of his four Championship meetings with Swansea (D1 L2), with that being his first with Derby in December 2020 (2-0).

• Plymouth's Andre Gray has scored five goals in his past six league appearances against Swansea City, the most recent of which came in May 2022 for QPR.

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Plymouth Argyle's highly-rated forward Morgan Whittaker will miss the rest of the year after a foot injury.

Last season's top scorer limped off in the second half of last month's 2-2 draw with Luton Town.

The 23-year-old was named in last season's Championship team of the season and was the subject of a bid from Italian giants Lazio last January.

He is the latest Argyle player to be ruled out until 2025, joining the likes of Muhamed Tijani, Ibrahim Cissoko and Joe Edwards on the sidelines.

However, Argyle boss Wayne Rooney has been boosted by news that Northern Ireland goalkeeper Conor Hazard is available after recovering from an ankle injury that had kept him out since early September, while defender Brendan Galloway could also return.

"The important thing come January is we get those players back fit; really, that'll be like new signings in my opinion because they're key players," Rooney said.

"Then on top of that, if we can bring players in, we will do."

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Chris Sutton says he has "a lot of sympathy" for Plymouth Argyle boss Wayne Rooney after the Pilgrims recent poor results.

Argyle have conceded 10 goals in their last two matches - a 6-1 thrashing at Norwich City last Tuesday and a 4-0 defeat at Bristol City on Saturday.

It led to the former England captain describing last week as the "hardest" in his managerial career and feeling "embarrassed" when applauding the travelling Argyle fans at Ashton Gate.

The results have left Rooney's injury-hit side one place and two points above the relegation places. They have won just four of their 18 Championship matches since Rooney took over in May.

"Rooney didn't have to do it and I actually have a lot of sympathy for him and the criticism which he's getting," former Aston Villa and Celtic striker Sutton told BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club.

"I know he's had a bad week, a desperately bad week - walloped six at Norwich and four at Bristol City - but the expectation for Plymouth I think, I maybe wrong, is staying in the Championship would be a pretty big deal."

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It is one of the most eagerly anticipated dates in the football calendar as Premier League and Championship clubs join the FA Cup action from round three.

The draw will take place on Monday, 2 December from 19:00 GMT and can be watched live on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

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Plymouth Argyle manager Wayne Rooney says the club's current poor form means it is proving difficult for him to pick attacker Rami Al Hajj.

The 23-year-old former Sweden under-21 player, who joined from Danish side Odense for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal in August, has started just one game in November.

He started five times in the previous two months and got his only goal in the 3-1 win over Luton Town on 27 September, when he opened the scoring after eight minutes.

But with Argyle struggling - they were crushed 6-1 by Norwich City on Tuesday night and sit just two points above the relegation places - Rooney says Al Hajj may have to wait for his chance.

"I think Rami's more of a flair player, and early on in the season when we were playing really good football, I think that has dropped a little bit of late," Rooney said.

"Rami's a player who needs to be in a team that plays football, and at the minute when we're going through this period, I think we need a player in there who has a more natural defensive side to them and a more natural fight in them if you like.

"Players who know the league and know what the demands are of this league, and for Rami it's taking a little bit of time for him to adjust.

"But we'll keep working on that and hopefully get him right to have an effect on us throughout the season."

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Norwich are now without a win in their past seven games following a 2-2 draw at West Bromwich Albion at the weekend and have slipped to 13th in the Championship table.

On Tuesday evening, they welcome a Plymouth side who produced more late heroics to salvage a point in a 2-2 draw of their own against Watford at Home Park on Friday night.

• Norwich have won four of their past five league games against Plymouth, though their other game was a 6-2 defeat in September 2023.

• Plymouth Argyle have lost 15 of their past 20 away league matches against Norwich City (W2 D3), losing each of the past three.

• Norwich lost their past home league game against Bristol City (0-2) and could lose successive such games for the first time since November 2023.

• Plymouth are winless in their past 10 away league games (D2 L8), though one of those two draws came in their most recent such game against Derby (1-1).

• Plymouth's Morgan Whittaker has scored more goals against Norwich than he has against any other side in the Football League (4), all of which came last season (three in September, one in March).