This is what Plymouth have to say about tomorrow:

Plymouth without a manager:




Director of Football Neil Dewsnip and Argyle captain Joe Edwards spoke about what goes into preparations for Boxing Day’s trip to Cardiff City.


“We will have as always massive away support at Cardiff who will be loud.”


“The players will be in [Christmas Eve] for a recovery session and then off home to see their families,” said Neil. “They'll meet up again Christmas evening and we'll plan and prepare at the hotel in Cardiff.

“I think if you're a football fanatic - I guess I would be in that category - then Boxing Day is a major day, isn't it? It's like the first day of the season. The games are always exciting. You get some crazy scores all around the country.”

“It's our busiest period, so we're going to do everything right,” said Joe. “We're in the cryo chambers, ice baths and everything, ready to go and recovering as best as we can.

“I'm used to it now, so I do enjoy it. Your family's always around, you have people coming to watch you, and I know it's a special time for fans. It's hard for the players, don't get me wrong, it's hard for a lot of them away from families, but we've got a great team here that we're all together. A Boxing Day win is always, I find, very special.”

Cardiff are 10th in the division, with 10 wins and 10 defeats from their 23 games. Argyle will head there searching for their first away win of the season so far, but Joe says that good results against Queens Park Rangers and Rotherham United, before the Birmingham draw, give confidence heading across the Severn.

“It's going to be a tough game; in the Championship, they're all tough games,” he said. “They've had a really good season so far. They're probably very happy about how they've been doing this year. We know we're going to have to go into it fully prepared, fully focused, and we'll make sure that the boys are ready.

“We've got a belief inside of us. We're on a little unbeaten run now, which is great for us, and we want to build on that and take our ‘A’ game to Cardiff.

“To have that little belief after the week we've had is something special to have and to be proud of. We can we can go into Cardiff full of confidence and really pushing to get a good result.”

For Dewsnip, and first-team coach Kevin Nancekivell, the task is to swiftly shift focus to the Bluebirds, and to pick a side they feel is capable of getting a result in the Welsh capital.

Dewsnip said: “Our analysts have just thrown a load of stuff at me - my homework, if you like - so I'll have a really good look at them. Nance is doing the same, we'll come up with a plan and we'll be ready.

“Some of the lads who didn't start [against Birmingham] will be chomping at the bit, I'm sure, to get a go. We'll have a good chat, myself and Nance, and come up with the team that we think will give us the best chance.”

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

The Pilgrims will take on Cardiff without defender Dan Scarr as he completes a three-match suspension following his dismissal against QPR but there could be a return to the squad for Mustapha Bundu.

After playing for much of the match at QPR with only 10 men, scoring a last-gasp winning goal against Rotherham and then getting an 86th minute equaliser from Morgan Whittaker on Saturday it has been very eventful time for the Pilgrims, not even accounting for the sudden departure of their manager.

Argyle captain Joe Edwards said: "It seems to be the last three games have had a little bit of everything. We have had sending-offs in every one, head injuries, and things like that.

"It has been a little bit chaotic at times but we are still unbeaten in this little run and we want to keep that going."

Former Swansea City attacker Morgan Whittaker will return to Wales on Boxing Day for the fixture on Boxing Day after taking his goal tally to 10 in 23 Championship games this season with his late strike against Birmingham.

Edwards said: "He's brilliant, his finishing is one of the best I have seen. He was frustrated he didn't score in the first half when it came back to him. That's 10 for the season now which is a fantastic return. You expect him to hit the target and a lot of times it goes in. He has been massive for us this year."

It had been a turbulent few days for Argyle after Schumacher left for Stoke City - who drew 0-0 at home to Millwall in his first match there - and it looked like they were destined for defeat against Birmingham when they went 3-1 behind.

However, they showed tremendous character to keep plugging away even though the temptation could have been to feel as though it was not meant to be for them because of the circumstances they found themselves in.

Edwards said: "We have got to be proud of how we came back from those two occasions where we were two goals behind. Other teams and at other times we could have gone under and it would have been a really frustrating day.

"The week we have had, to come back from 2-0 and then 3-1 just shows the character we have got among the boys, and sticking together.

"We have not changed inside of our little dressing room and we know that. We have got the ability in our team and we have just got to keep that belief."

Inevitably, there will be plenty of speculation over the coming days about who the next Argyle manager will be, but Edwards does not believe that will be any distraction for the Pilgrims' squad.