Houghton on Argyle's past and present managers

JORDAN Houghton has admitted he owes a lot to Steven Schumacher for helping him in his career but Plymouth Argyle beating their former manager's Stoke City side at Home Park today (KO 3pm) is what the midfielder is focused on now.

- CHRIS ERRINGTON

It will be the first time that Schumacher has been back to the Theatre of Greens since leaving for Stoke last December, and it comes at a time when Wayne Rooney's Pilgrims will be seeking their first Championship win of the season at the fourth attempt.

Houghton played regularly for Argyle when they won the League One title in 2022/23 with 101 points and believes Schumacher deserves a lot of the credit for that incredible campaign.

The 28-year-old said: "I spent two-and-ahalf years with him and he got me to a point where I was probably playing some of the best football of my career, and got me to this club as well. I'm looking forward to seeing him but that's going to be after the game because number one is our game against them, and they are our rivals now." When asked what reception he thought Schumacher would receive from the fans on his first return to Home Park, Houghton said: "Probably mixed. I'm sure there will be some people that are still hurting, the fact he left us midway through the season.

"I hope he gets a good reception as well because the club are at this point now because of him. We did have a good team but I think fundamentally a lot of it did come down to Schuey, a lot of the things he did worked, and that got us to winning the league with 101 points.