Pilgrims must see away results improve

SCHUMACHER'S SIDE ARE YET TO WIN AWAY IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP

- CHRIS ERRINGTON

IT is shaping up to be the biggest challenge that Steven Schumacher has faced during his nearly two years as Plymouth Argyle manager.

The Pilgrims' away form could quite easily cost them their muchcoveted, and hard-earned, Championship status unless it starts to pick up soon. Yes, their results at Home Park continue to be impressive, even after they have made the step up from League One, and that should not be under-estimated.

However, Argyle are getting into a situation where they will be putting added pressure on themselves when they play at the Theatre of Greens to get wins because of their away struggles.

Make no mistake about it, to get to the end of November without an away Championship win is disappointing. While with the exception of the 4-1 defeat at Bristol City in mid-September, they have been competitive in all of their games on the road the bottom line is that they have lost six out of nine, drawn three and scored just seven goals.

That is simply not going to cut it at this level. So what is the solution? Paul Sturrock was faced with a similar problem during his first spell as Argyle manager and his answer was to play different formations - 4-4-2 at home, 4-5-1 away.

Now I would not advocate that. The Pilgrims were in what is now called League Two in those days and shape and organisation counted for a lot. The Championship in 2023/24 is hugely competitive with each side possessing some supremely talented players and I am not sure having separate home and away formations would work.