Argyle boss is relishing the demands of England's second tier

IAN Foster has explained how there is much more to his team selection for Plymouth Argyle games than just the level of performance from the players available to him.

- CHRIS ERRINGTON

The Pilgrims' head coach is acutely aware of the physical demands of Championship football, both in terms of the high standard and intensity of the matches and also the amount of fixtures. He therefore regards the management of the players' fitness and health as one of his most important tasks as manager.

Argyle played seven times in 22 days during February and are beginning March with three games in eight days, with the 2-0 defeat by promotion-chasing Ipswich Town at Home Park on Saturday followed by trips to Sheffield Wednesday tonight and Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

By closely monitoring the physical outputs of the squad, Argyle have been able to get to this advanced stage of the season with no players currently out injured, and that is a major plus going into the final nine weeks of the Championship campaign.

"I think I have had a game every four days since I have been here," said Foster, who was appointed by Argyle on January 5. "It has been a real interesting run.

"The volume of games is obviously quite unique in terms of having to go every four days, so in that period of time you are trying to manage players, you are trying to manage the fitness and health of the players, which is really important, whilst still getting a balance of trying to be competitive and win games of football.