Phil Sumbler
Had things turned out a little differently in the summer then Steven Schumacher could have been an opposition manager at Home Park tomorrow but instead he will be looking to stop the Swans securing a fourth successive win ahead of the international break.
Schumacher was a definite interest for the Swans this summer when they started their managerial search when it became apparent that Russell Martin was to join Southampton but instead it was Michael Duff who took the reigns in SA1 and that is where we are now.
This afternoon Duff will be looking to finish what feels like a very productive mini run of games between international breaks when he goes in search of that fourth win off the back of an unbeaten run since the debacle at Cardiff.
Just one point and one place separate the two sides at kick off thanks to Argyle’s defeat to Millwall on Tuesday night and Schumacher will be aiming to ensure that his side go into this break by avoiding another defeat and have that particular thought in his mind for two weeks.
The Plymouth boss says that he knows what to expect from the Swans when we roll into town. “Swansea will be completely different from Millwall,” he said. “They play in a different style. They’ll pass through the thirds, which is what we’ve come to expect from a Swansea team. They’re in great form at the moment. They’ve had a great win on Wednesday night against Norwich. They played really well, and that’s off the back of two other wins.
“It seems that Michael has landed on something with the team. He’s figured out how they want to play and they’re doing really well. It’s going to be a hard game and I’m sure they’re going to come in here with confidence, wanting to be getting 12 points from this block of fixtures before they go into the international break.
“I like Michael. We get on really well. He’s got a really good record. He’s done a brilliant job at Cheltenham, then an amazing job last year at Barnsley. They were so unlucky not to go up. I was gutted for him personally that he didn’t manage to get it over the line, but he got his opportunity anyway to work in the Championship with Swansea.
“It took them a bit of time to get going, which can happen when a new manager goes into a new club, it takes a bit of time to figure out the players that he’s got, and players take a bit of time to figure out a new manager. He’s doing well at the moment but hopefully we can stop that run on Saturday.”
The game is a total sell out both for home and away fans and Schumacher hopes that the backing of a passionate home crowd will make the difference in the game
“Our fans were brilliant on Tuesday night,” he said. “I want to stress that. The noise was better. I think we turned the Tannoy up a little bit for the Janner song, so that got the atmosphere going and we want that to be the same on Saturday.
“The fans can only play their part. It’s up to us as a staff and as the players to play our part, put in a performance that not only is a good football performance, but gets some points.
“We feel as though our recent performances deserve more points than they’re getting, so we’re going all out to try and do better on Saturday.”
This afternoon’s game kicks off at 3pm
