Plymouth Argyle

Image source, Rex Features

Plymouth Argyle head coach Miron Muslic says his side showed they still have belief that they can stay up after their 2-1 win over Norwich City.

Ryan Hardie's two first-half goals were enough to ensure just an eighth win of the season for the Pilgrims.

Argyle remain bottom of the Championship, but are now just four points from safety with six games to play.

"We knew the importance of the game and we also knew our situation," Muslic told BBC Radio Devon.

"We knew we just had to win, and I mentioned in my last speech in the locker room it's about the sacrifice and to give it all, and we have a chance.

"It was hard for us to find our way into the game in the first 10 or 15 minutes.

"But then you see what momentum means in football - that first goal that was a door-opener for us, that was a big relief, a massive confidence boost inside our team and the Green Army just jumped on this train and gave us this second wave of support.

"The first half, after the first goal, was brilliant, maybe one of the best performances in the last couple of weeks."

Plymouth's battle for Championship survival continues with the visit of play-off chasing Norwich to Home Park on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Basement-boys Argyle are effectively eight points from safety, such is their inferior goal difference, with seven games remaining after Derby's win over Preston on Wednesday night.

The Canaries' last-gasp win over West Brom on Saturday took them back into the top-10 and within five points of the play-off spots.

• Plymouth Argyle have lost five of their past six league games against Norwich, winning the other 6-2 at Home Park last season.

• Norwich won 6-1 earlier this campaign against Plymouth at Carrow Road. The last time the Canaries scored 10 league goals against an opponent in a season was against Millwall in 2014-15 (10).

• Across their past 13 home games in all competitions, Plymouth's only clean sheet came against current Premier League leaders Liverpool in a 1-0 FA Cup win in February.

• Of Norwich's last 36 Championship goals, only six have them been scored away from home. Just 26% of their goals have been scored on the road (16/61) with only Plymouth scoring a lower percentage away (8/40, 20%).

• Josh Sargent has scored nine goals in his past 11 Championship appearances for Norwich and overall he's scored 42 in 93 games at this level – the only Canaries player with more since 2004-05 is Teemu Pukki (65).

Image source, Getty Images

Plymouth Argyle head coach Miron Muslic feels his side must beat Norwich City if they are to stand any hope of avoiding relegation from the Championship.

The Pilgrims are seven points from safety at the bottom of the table, with seven games to play, including meetings with leaders Sheffield United and second-placed Leeds United.

Argyle have won just one of their last eight league matches and were thrashed 6-1 by Norwich at Carrow Road in November when then-head coach Wayne Rooney said the club's youth team could have done better.

"We have to win on Saturday," Muslic told BBC Radio Devon.

"We have to have this desire and the heart to go outside and take this opportunity to grab the three points, then you never know.

"If we don't manage to do this then I think it's going to be very, very difficult, then I cannot be optimistic any more.

"But the desire is there to win these three points and then we will see."

Norwich go into the game having been thrashed 6-2 on their last visit to Home Park in September 2023 - a result that is still Argyle's biggest win since they returned to the Championship that summer.

But victory will also be hugely important for the Canaries as they try and convert an outside chance of a play-off place - they are 10th and five points off the final spot.

"I think it will be an open game because I think they also have something to play for," added Muslic.

"They won't come here to defend, they won't come here in a deep block, they will try to attack because I think if they can manage to try and grab the three points the gate is also open for them to attack the play-offs.

"Our desire should be way, way bigger to win this game, and this is the plan."

Image source, Rex Features

Miron Muslic says he is still positive despite Plymouth Argyle's perilous position at the bottom of the Championship.

The Pilgrims played out a goalless draw at Watford on Saturday for just their ninth point on the road this season.

The result was just a second clean sheet away from home all season but Argyle remain six points from safety with seven games to play - including home games against the top two Sheffield United and Leeds United.

But head coach Muslic - who has led Argyle to five of those nine away points including their first away league win at Portsmouth earlier this month - says he still has hope Plymouth can survive.

"I'm still, as always, very optimistic and very positive, it's my job," he said.

"Imagine me with my head down, imagine me not positive, imagine me not leading, then we can just close and go for pre-season to Austria. That's not the plan."

Image source, PA Media

Plymouth Argyle boss Miron Muslic said his side need to be more clinical when they get into dangerous attacking positions following the 0-0 draw against Watford at Vicarage Road.

"We were almost perfect in the first half in not allowing Watford a shot on target," Muslic told BBC Radio Devon. "The lads were brilliant.

"They are a very good team with a fantastic home record so it's not easy to keep them out. It's a point and we take it - they are a good team.

"The next step is to reward ourselves with goals. We created so many good things due to good structure.

"We had a lot of opportunities but we needed to be a bit calmer and show more efficiency. We need to be more clinical with the positions we created.

"If we had given Watford the same chances that we had, I think they would have taken them."

Watford return to Championship action at home to Plymouth on Saturday (12:30 GMT) with a five point gap separating them from the play-off places.

Plymouth are six points adrift of safety so there is plenty at stake at Vicarage Road.

• Watford are unbeaten across their past five league games against Plymouth Argyle (W2 D3), keeping three clean sheets during that time.

• Plymouth Argyle have lost just one of their past five away league games against Watford (W2 D2), conceding just three goals across those visits to Vicarage Road.

• After losing each of their five home league games between late December and early February, Watford have now won two of their past three at Vicarage Road, while keeping a clean sheet in both wins.

• Plymouth won their last away league game 2-1 against Portsmouth, and will be looking to win successive away matches in England's second tier for the first time since April 2010.

• Plymouth have conceded 77 goals this season, the most of any side in the Championship. Only three times previously have the Pilgrims conceded more goals after 38 games of a Football League campaign (86 in 1946-47 & 1959-60 and 79 in 1954-55).

Image source, Getty Images

Plymouth Argyle defender Nikola Katic featured in Bosnia and Herzegovina's 2-1 win over Cyprus in Monday's Fifa World Cup qualifier.

The 28-year-old came off the bench for the final 20 minutes of the game in Zenica as the Bosnians won for the second successive match to go top of their group.

Meanwhile, Argyle midfielder Darko Gyabi featured for England's Under-20 side in their 2-2 draw with Switzerland in Spain.

The 21-year-old, who is on loan at Home Park from Leeds United, replaced Manchester United midfielder Toby Collyer for the final 30 minutes.

Image source, Rex Features

Plymouth Argyle forward Mustapha Bundu scored for Sierra Leone on Thursday night as they beat Guinea-Bissau 3-1 in the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualification stages.

The 28-year-old latched on to a poor backpass from a Guinea-Bissau defender and rounded the keeper to give his side the lead.

Bundu, who has scored six times for Plymouth this season, also has four international goals to his name since making his debut in August 2018.

Elsewhere, Plymouth defender Victor Palsson featured in Iceland's 2-1 Uefa Nations League defeat by Kosovo, but Maksym Talovierov missed out on Ukraine's excellent win over Belgium, after being sent home on Tuesday, external due to a knee injury.

Image source, Rex Features

Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper Zak Baker has agreed a one-year contract extension.

The 20-year-old is a product of the Pilgrims' academy and has been with the club for nine years.

He is still yet to make a senior appearance, featuring on the bench five times this season, most recently against Burnley in January, but has since been sidelined with a knee injury.

"Yeah, I'm absolutely buzzing," Baker told the club website, external. "This is my third professional contract which shows I am doing the right things.

"I am really enjoying working with the group of goalkeepers we currently have. I obviously worked with Conor [Hazard] last year, but Daniel Grimshaw has come in as well and added a lot.

"He has been around some of the best goalkeepers in the world so there is plenty to pick his brain on to help my development.

"I'm looking forward to getting back fit and continuing to grow and learn from the other goalkeepers and Darryl [Flahavan, goalkeeper coach]."

Image source, Rex Features

Plymouth Argyle forward Mustapha Bundu says his side have "eight finals left" in their bid for Championship survival.

The 28-year-old's excellent first-half free-kick drew Argyle back into the match in their eventual 3-2 defeat at home by fellow strugglers Derby County on Saturday.

The loss leaves Argyle rooted to the foot of the table and six points from safety.

"After half-time, I thought we controlled the game after it went 2-2 and then one little mistake and we conceded a goal," Bundu told BBC Radio Devon.

"We gave everything at the end.

"[We're] very disappointed as it was a game we were very positive about getting a good result in because we wanted to build on the performance at Portsmouth.

"But now we have an international break, get some time off. Go back, reset, and eight finals to go when we get back."

Following his second goal in a week, and Bundu's sixth of the Championship campaign overall, the Sierra Leone international says there is still hope of Argyle repeating last season's final-day survival heroics.

"We were here last year and got some very big results in the last five, six games so there's points to be won - never give up," he added.

"We did it last year so we're going to give everything again."