Plymouth Argyle, 18th in the Championship, are taking on bottom club Rotherham, under their recently-appointed boss Leam Richardson, at Home Park tomorrow
Steven Schumacher is calling on the Green Army to make sure ‘Home Park is bouncing’ when Plymouth Argyle take on Rotherham United tomorrow.
Bottom-of-the-table Rotherham have played once under new boss Leam Richardson, the former Wigan Athletic manager, which was the 2-0 home defeat by West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday night.
The Millers, like Argyle, have yet to win an away Championship match this season, but they have won three of their last four visits to the Theatre of Greens, and Schumacher feels the home fans will play a crucial role this time.
Schumacher said: “I think our fans understand there is no game that is easy in the Championship. These (Rotherham) have been in the Championship now for a couple of seasons.
“They did really well last year to stay there, so they are definitely more established than we are.” Yes, they are now lower in the league than us, but it will not be an easy game.
“They have threats, real speed in wide areas, and they work incredibly hard for one another, so there should be no complacency.”
“I would ask our fans to support us as well as they have done in the last two games, Leicester City and QPR away from home. The away support has been incredible and we need Home Park bouncing because it helps. It definitely does help us if they are on it, generally we see the players be at it as well.”
Schumacher continued: “I know Leam Richardson really well. I remember his teams from Wigan and how organised and how hard he has them working.
“He will come down here with a plan to try to get a good result and we need to make sure we are on it and we get the result we are looking for.
“I know Leam hasn’t had much time with them, he only started this week, but I know what he’s all about, so he’ll have his team fired up.” They will see this as a huge opportunity to come and obtain a result because it is a team in and around their division.”
The journey to Rotherham United’s Home Park tomorrow will be followed by a trip to 16th-placed Birmingham City the following Saturday, meaning Argyle might pick up a lot of points.
Schumacher said: “Everyone keeps saying when you put back-to-back results together it can change, but saying it and doing it is a different thing. It’s really difficult. Every game we have been in this season we have had to be at 100 per cent our best to get anything from it.
“Putting back-to-back results together with the squad we have got, and where we are at as a club at the moment, it’s tough, but the effort is always there and that’s all I can ask from the players.
“As long as we put the effort in and play with the energy that we like to hopefully we can show enough quality to get the wins we are going to need.”
Finn Azaz has been a key player for Argyle this season, particularly at Home Park where he has had two goals and two assists in the last four games.
Schumacher said: “I think we have got to remember when we go away from home it’s difficult. All the teams that we have played away from have either been top of the league or in really good form.
“It hasn’t been easy for the lads, particularly the attacking players, to have the same impact away from home as they do at home.” We simply concentrate on the athletes’ efforts to perform to the best of their abilities.
“Finn has been fantastic for us. He should also be fresh given I had to take him off after 25 minutes the other night (when Dan Scarr was sent off in the 0-0 draw against QPR), so perhaps we’ll see the best of him on Saturday.”
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