Dewsnip: Argyle will not stand still after promotion

PLYMOUTH Argyle want to do more than just survive in the Championship this season and Neil Dewsnip believes their summer transfer window signings give them the chance of achieving that aim.

- CHRIS ERRINGTON

The Pilgrims’ director of football was ‘absolutely delighted’ with the recruitment work done by the club since their League One title success.

Not only that, he was pleased Argyle were able to keep some key players on new contracts, as well as securing the futures of talented 17-year-old duo Freddie Issaka and Caleb Roberts.

Overall, Argyle made 10 summer signings - six on permanent deals, most notably Bali Mumba and Morgan Whittaker for joint club record £1 million fees, and four on season-long loans - and the early signs for all of them have been encouraging.

Mumba and Whittaker were hugely successful loan signings for Argyle last season and it was quite a coup to be able to secure their long-term futures during the summer transfer window.

Dewsnip told Herald Sport: “We started off renegotiating contracts with Adam Randell, Dan Scarr, Jordan Houghton and Ryan Hardie. That was massive for us going into the Championship and it was kind of stage one of the plan, and then we go into those 10 signings.

“Everybody will have obviously known how high profile the signings of Morgan and Bali were. We were delighted and I’m sure I can speak for Steven (Schumacher) as well that we would thank Simon (Hallett) and the board for their support in that.

“It was a big statement for all of us saying that we don’t want to stand still, we want to move forwards.

“We see Morgan and Bali, and the other signings, helping us not only to secure our status as a Championship team, but to actually start to succeed within the Championship, which is not going to be easy.

“We know we are a work in progress but we want to do a little bit better than just survive, and the players we have recruited we believe can help us in that journey.”