I'LL TAKE IT ON THE CHIN

ARGYLE MANAGER STEVEN SCHUMACHER WILL NOT SHY AWAY FROM WEMBLEY CRITICISM

-  CHRIS ERRINGTON

STEVEN Schumacher will not shy away from any criticism that comes his way after Plymouth Argyle's Papa Johns Trophy final defeat by Bolton Wanderers but will carry on doing what he believes are the right things to do.

The Pilgrims' boss saw his side beaten 4-0 in front of 80,000 fans at Wembley as their poor play was ruthlessly punished by their League One rivals.

Schumacher has earned a lot of plaudits for the way he has stepped up into the managerial role at Argyle since taking over from Ryan Lowe in December 2021, and deservedly so given the success they have had.

After such a chastening experience for the Pilgrims at the national stadium there inevitably will be some questioning of where it all went wrong.

However, with second-placed Argyle in the mix for automatic promotion out of League One with eight games remaining, there is still a lot at stake for Schumacher and his players.

Schumacher said after the defeat at Wembley: "There should be no negativity around our team. None whatsoever. We are playing so well, we are overperforming - if you like from what we should be doing.

"Personally, it's my first full season as a manager and days like this is where you learn a lot about yourself, you learn a lot about your team, and I have always been a strong character.