Tom Cleverley has been given the vote of confidence, at Plymouth Argyle, after a dreadful start to the season.
Tom Cleverley's Plymouth Argyle are in a relegation battle.
Tom Cleverley's Plymouth Argyle are in a relegation battle. (Image: Harry Trump/Shutterstock)
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Former Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley has received a vote of confidence from Plymouth Argyle - despite the club battling against the drop. Cleverley took charge of the League One side after his dismissal from Watford in May, although performances have been disappointing thus far.
Argyle were relegated from the Championship last season, with Wayne Rooney leaving with the club as risk of being cut adrift, and Milon Muslic unable to mastermind a miraculous escape. Muslic subsequently departed for German outfit Schalke and successor Cleverley now faces the prospect of overseeing consecutive relegations at Home Park.
The Pilgrims suffered defeat in their opening four fixtures before showing signs of improvement under their new manager, but they have ultimately collected just a single point from their previous four matches to languish 22nd out of 24 clubs in the third tier - with the bottom four going down. Nevertheless, chief executive Paul Berne maintains Cleverley retains the support of senior figures at the club with no apparent desire to rush into a sacking.
"In the case of our head coach, let me be more explicit," Berne said in a statement following Tuesday's defeat at Mansfield, a third straight league loss, having suggested recovery from "an enormous period of instability" will require patience. "We hired Tom as a young, bright, ambitious head coach who could come and be a big part of Argyle's next phase.
"We are a quarter of the way into Tom's first season with us. Whilst results have been disappointing, nothing has changed in terms of Tom being the right person for this club. We need to bring that stability throughout the club, and this comes from head coach downwards."
Berne added: "We are confident that things will improve. We've had a number of circumstances which have hit us in recent weeks, resulting in key players being missing throughout the opening 14 league games. This was emphasised last night, with Tom unable to fill the substitutes bench, and nine players being unavailable for selection, with the vast majority considered first-team starters.
"These are not excuses, but facts, and are clearly not ideal circumstances for any head coach to deliver consistent, winning performances. But, we believe Tom has all the tools to still deliver this.
"Throughout all of this, the support of the Green Army has never wavered, with continued sell-out home crowds and incredible away backings. This support is never taken for granted by anyone at the football club, especially Tom, his staff and the players. We are One Argyle, and as history has proven, when we are united we can achieve special things. Let's stick together. COYG."
Plymouth were only able to name six substitutes on Tuesday, as goals from Will Evans and Jordan Bowery secured three points for opponents Mansfield. Ayman Benarous became the latest player ruled out after suffering what Cleverley described as a "freak" injury, though Matthew Sorinola will be back in contention for Saturday's FA Cup clash at Wycombe after missing the Mansfield trip through suspension.
Cleverley in happier times.
Cleverley in happier times.(Image: Getty Images)
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"It's an action that he would have done tens of thousands of times opening his knee out a little bit to receive the ball and something's clicked in there which has caused a little bit of ligament damage," Cleverley explained when addressing Benarous' unavailability. "It's disappointing for him because, after the last couple of performances and the way he's been training he would have featured a lot in a few games."
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