Plymouth Argyle are preparing for life back in League One after they were unable to avoid relegation from the Championship in the final weeks of the season.
The arrival of Miron Muslic in January did coincide with an upturn in form for the Pilgrims, but the former Cercle Brugges boss was unable to reverse the damage that was done earlier in the campaign.
There are question marks over Muslic’s future at Home Park after dropping into the third tier, and after a scathing review of the board in April, work has been done to help try and keep hold of their manager this summer.
However, it does come as a blow to Leicester City, and there may be an element of shock at the King Power Stadium after they lost one of those high up at the club to a team that are a division below them in the EFL.
Plymouth Argyle poach Leicester City loans manager in Home Park return
David Fox only took over as the Foxes’ loans manager two weeks ago, but he is set to be announced as the new head of football operations of the Devonshire outfit in the coming days, as per BBC Sport.
Photo by Steven Hadlow/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by Steven Hadlow/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The 41-year-old ended his playing career at Plymouth in 2019 after a three-year spell at Home Park, with the retired midfielder making 142 appearances for the club after he joined from Crewe Alexandra while the Greens were playing in League Two.
It’s a disappointing loss for Leicester, who now have to seek a replacement having only just hired Fox, while the Pilgrims are showing ambition already in their target of returning to the Championship at the first time of asking.
It is not the only vacancy that needs to be filled on the south coast, with a new head of recruitment the next challenge for Simon Hallett to find following Jimmy Dickinson’s departure to Bolton Wanderers – who are managed by former Plymouth boss Steven Schumacher.
The addition of David Fox is a roll of the dice to keep Miron Muslic at the club
It is going to be a tricky few weeks for Argyle to navigate as they seek to keep hold of Muslic, but this is a step in the right direction.
Plymouth have been tipped for promotion, but that is not a guarantee with those coming down to League One with them also going to be challenging for the top two, while sides like Bolton and Peterborough United will be strong again.
Therefore, keeping Muslic around will be crucial to success as losing him provides another challenge for the board to complete.
Nevertheless, this is a step in the right direction for Plymouth Argyle, and if they are to compete in League One, then they need the right footballing people around the club to ensure that they do miss out on promotion.