Plymouth Argyle

Image source, Rex Features

Head coach Miron Muslic conceded Plymouth Argyle are already relegated despite their fate still not being officially confirmed following their victory over Preston North End.

"I feel empty and hearbroken, " Muslic told BBC Radio Devon, accepting a double-digit win over Leeds in their final game was not feasible.

"We gave it our all but it was not easy for the lads to go from the first whistle knowing Luton had scored this unbelievable goal in minute 90.

"It was a tough one to take and to be ready to give it our all one more time.

"We showed we have the right character but unfortunately it was not enough and we will get relegated. It's a sad day for all of us. It's over, unfortunately.

"We had an obligation as a team and staff - and to the Green Army, who needed to see their team fighting."

Both these sides still have work to do to secure their Championship status.

Plymouth will start Saturday's game (15:00 BST) three points short of safety, while Preston's six-match winless run means they are only three points clear of trouble.

• Preston are unbeaten across their past six league games against Plymouth (W3 D3), since a 1-0 away loss in October 2008.

• Plymouth are winless in their past seven away league games against Preston (D3 L4), since a 1-0 win in November 1997.

• Preston have won just one of their past 13 league games (D6 L6), losing the past three in a row. They last lost more consecutively between April and August last year (seven).

• Plymouth have alternated between victory (three) and defeat (two) in their past five league games, beating Norwich last time out. However, both losses in that run have come away from home, while all three victories have come at home.

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Plymouth Argyle head coach Miron Muslic says his side have the "belief" to keep their Championship survival hopes alive.

The Pilgrims are three points from safety at the bottom of the table with two games to play, starting with a must-win trip to Preston North End on Saturday.

Argyle go into the game in good form, having won three of their past five games beating Norwich City, Sheffield United and Coventry City at home.

"The recent weeks have just confirmed our self-confidence and the belief inside this team that we can achieve this," Muslic told BBC Radio Devon.

"The next must-win is just around the corner and we can only control what we have in our hands, and that's purely our performance."

Argyle's poor goal difference means they could be facing the drop before kick-off should Luton Town win their lunchtime game with Coventry.

But Muslic says while he cannot stop his players finding out other results, he can ensure his team try to keep their own results under their control.

"We can't control what happens in other stadiums and this will have no influence on us, because in the end we just have to do our job, grab the three points and see where we are," he said.

"Our obligation is to go out and give our all, regardless of what happens before, and that's exactly the mindset we have inside this team.

"I think if you looked at the last performance here on Monday against Coventry, then you can imagine that we are ready to do this."

Image source, Rex Features

Plymouth Argyle's Ukraine defender Maksym Talovierov has returned to fitness in time for the final two games of the season.

It had been feared that the club-record signing would miss the rest of the campaign after injuring his knee in last month's 3-2 loss to Derby County.

But the centre-back, who has scored two goals in 11 appearances for the Pilgrims since his January move to Home Park, has recovered for the trip to Preston North End on Saturday.

Bottom-of-the-table Argyle must win at Deepdale if they are to stand a realistic chance of staying in the Championship.

"He will be in the squad," Argyle head coach Miron Muslic told BBC Radio Devon.

"He was pushing everyone, the medical department, the physio department, the performance department, and then latest me.

"But he has the green light and is 100%, and he will be available for the squad and if we need him for the last 10, 15, 20 minutes he will be on the pitch."

Image source, Rex Features

Plymouth Argyle head coach Miron Muslic says he is proud of his side after their 3-1 win over Coventry City.

The victory kept the Pilgrims three points from safety with two games to go as they try and secure their Championship survival.

The win came three days after a heart-breaking late loss at Middlesbrough, and with all Argyle's relegation rivals either winning or getting a point, was crucial.

"I'm very proud to deliver this kind of performance, just two days after Middlesbrough," he told BBC Sport:

"To step on the field today and perform like the lads performed I'm very proud – we knew the calibre of the opponent they're flying with 15 wins from 20 games

"We had a fantastic match plan, great discipline and the heart and desire to execute it.

"We did our job today and I think we did it in an excellent way.

"We want to win the next one because the last home game against Leeds, we have a final, and that's what we're aiming for."

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Plymouth Argyle head coach Miron Muslic admits he was 'hurt' at the manner of their last-gasp defeat at Middlesbrough.

Argyle were on course for a useful point when Tommy Conway won an injury-time penalty for which their captain Joe Edwards was sent off before the Boro forward sent Conor Hazard the wrong way from the spot to leave Plymouth with nothing.

It keeps the three-point gap to Derby County in 21st place - which is effectively four, given Plymouth's vastly inferior goal difference - but now with only three games to go.

But after playing well for large periods at the Riverside, Muslic is confident his side can regroup for Monday's home game with play-off chasing Coventry City.

"It feels heavy," he told BBC Radio Devon. "The lads played a brilliant game.

"Everything we prepared before, we actually delivered. We knew the threat of Middlesbrough - very strong in possession, very strong offensively, but we did it very well and consistently kept our transition threat, creating so many goalscoring opportunities.

"That shows the strong performance we had. And losing this very much deserved point we had with a 93rd-minute penalty, it hurts.

"We have to go again - there is nothing to regret after that 100 minutes. We gave it all."

Three points off the play-offs meets three points off safety. Another Good Friday match-up with a plenty on the line for both Middlesbrough and Plymouth.

Boro know a win will keep them in the top-six debate, for Argyle the battle to save their tumultuous season gets more and more intense.

Here is the tale of the tape ahead of kick-off (15:00 BST).

• Middlesbrough have won two of their past nine league matches against Plymouth Argyle (D5 L2) and are winless in their last three (D2 L1).

• Plymouth Argyle have won on each of their past two league trips to Middlesbrough (1-0 in October 2009 and 2-0 in February 2024); they could win three in a row for the first time.

• Of the 51 teams to play 50+ English Football League games on Good Friday, Middlesbrough have the lowest win percentage (21.6%), winning just 11 of 51 games (D15 L25).

• Plymouth have alternated between victory (3) and defeat (3) in each of their past six league games on Good Friday, losing 2-1 away to Norwich last season.

• Only Sheffield Wednesday (21) have won more points from losing positions in the Championship than Plymouth (18), though just four of those points have come on the road.

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Plymouth Argyle boss Miron Muslic has hailed Nikola Katic's efforts to be fit for the Championship run-in.

The Bosnia defender missed the win over Sheffield United with a hamstring injury, but could feature in East Monday's game against Coventry City at Home Park.

The 28-year-old has been a key figure in the heart of Argyle's defence since joining on loan from FC Zurich in January.

"There's even a little chance, because he absolutely wants and desperately wants, to have him available for Monday, so we will try everything to push for this," Muslic told BBC Radio Devon.

"It's never easy, especially when the season is about to end and the loan players know exactly 'I will return back to my to my home club and I will return back to the roots', so they can lose a little bit of spirit.

"But that's exactly the opposite because Nikola, that's an international football player, he's a national player for Bosnia.

"He can also now use the next two-and-a-half to three weeks to completely recover, to completely heal, but he pushed us almost for this game against Middlesbrough.

"That's why all the data is perfect, all the analysis is perfect, that's why you need to do a character check before you sign players. I knew in January this is the right player for us."

Brent Pilnick
BBC Sport, South West

Image source, Getty Images

Every time Plymouth Argyle appear to be dead and buried, they go and do something to keep Pilgrims fans believing they might just claw their way out of the relegation mire.

Victory over Norwich the other week, and last week's come-from-behind win at home to third-placed Sheffield United shows there is still hope for Argyle, even if their chances are slim with their terrible goal difference compounding their three-point gap to safety.

There is no doubt that Argyle's run-in is challenging – they go to play-off chasing Middlesbrough on Friday and then host sixth-placed Coventry on Easter Monday before a trip to Preston and a home game with title contenders Leeds United ends their season.

But if Argyle have taught us anything in the past few weeks, it's that they seem to have a knack of doing well in the tough games and losing the easier-looking ones – so maybe, just maybe, they can get out of trouble.

Their hopes may well rest on who stays fit - especially defensively. With Matthew Sorinola out for the season, Argyle will hope that Nikola Katic and Maksym Talovierov can return for the run-in.

Captain Joe Edwards' return could be key and his leadership was crucial in Saturday's victory over Sheffield United.

Up front it is vital Ryan Hardie - who has scored nine in his past 11 games - stays fit while Muhamed Tijani scored just his second goal of the season last week after recovering from a hamstring injury that has dogged him all campaign.

Argyle managed to stay up on the last day of last season - you feel that if they do survive this time around, it may well be on the final day.

Image source, Getty Images

Plymouth Argyle manager Miron Muslic says captain Joe Edwards will start Good Friday's crucial Championship trip to Middlesbrough.

Edwards came on as a half-time substitute against high-flying Sheffield United on Saturday and helped the Pilgrims overturn a 1-0 deficit to get a crucial 2-1 win.

The 34-year-old has featured four times from the bench since returning from a serious hamstring injury he sustained in October.

But Muslic says the time is right for Edwards, who helped coach the side between Wayne Rooney's departure and Muslic's appointment, to bring him back.

"I want to start him and I will start him, that's not a secret, that's almost obvious after the last performance," Muslic told BBC Radio Devon.

"We can also take advantage of not only his performance, out of his leadership and experience.

"Little moments in set-pieces in the opponent's box - his first action he just went to [Michael] Cooper [Sheffield United goalkeeper] and gave him a little shoulder - these are little things, but they have a massive impact.

"He can play a crucial part for us and then let's see how we progress the game.

"The way I understand Joe's profile, the way I see Joe, he's smart enough to manage himself until a certain point, and if he can't any more then no problem at all, other players will step in to do the task."