The five big hurdles that the Pilgrims cleared for their survival

IT WAS A CHALLENGING SEASON THAT SAW ARGYLE OVERCOME PLENTY TO STAY UP

IT was never going to be easy for Plymouth Argyle in their first season back in the Championship after a 13-year absence, and that is exactly how it turned out, with their survival not secured until the final whistle of the 46th and last match.

There were times during the campaign when it looked like the Pilgrims would achieve their goal of staying up without too many alarms, such as when Morgan Whittaker scored a last-gasp winning goal to beat Rotherham United 3-2 at Home Park shortly before Christmas.

Argyle were 16th in the table after that, 10 points clear of 23rd-placed Sheffield Wednesday and 13 ahead of bottom club Rotherham. However, three days later, Seven Schumacher quit as a manager to take over at Stoke City and suddenly there was turmoil.

Schumacher’s successor, Ian Foster, then guided the Pilgrims to three wins and 11 points from his first eight Championship matches, leading up to an impressive 2-0 victory over Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium on February 24 when they would not have been flattered at all had they triumphed by double that margin.

Argyle were in 15th position after that, five points clear of the relegation zone and eight points clear of still 23rd-placed Sheffield Wednesday, while Rotherham were miles adrift. However, the Pilgrims then picked up just one point from their next six fixtures, Foster was sacked after the 1-0 Easter Monday home defeat by Bristol City and relegation became a very real possibility.

In the end, Neil Dews-Kevin Nancekivell guided Nip and Argyle to 10 points from their final six fixtures, including hugely impressive 1-0 wins against eventual champions Leicester City and Hull City in their last two games at the Theatre of Greens, and they finished in 21st, one point clear of the drop zone.