Plymouth Argyle: Lessons learned for Miron Muslic after Brentford, FA Cup shock | OneFootball

The new Plymouth Argyle boss watched the Brentford game from the stands

"Aggressive, intense, and brave."

By his own admission, those are the key principles of the high-intensity pressing football that new Plymouth Argyle boss Miron Muslic was known for at Cercle Brugge. He saw plenty of all three as the Greens dumped Premier League Brentford out of the FA Cup in Saturday's third round tie.

The Austrian coach was named as Wayne Rooney's permanent replacement on Friday – becoming the Greens' first non-British manager – after impressing Argyle owner Simon Hallett with his "clear vision of how he wanted to take Argyle forward" and "depth of tactical awareness that made it clear exactly how he wanted the team to set up and play".

Much of Hallett's Home Park decision-making is numbers-led and it's the numbers that show the size of the task facing Muslic down in Devon. The 42-year-old is Argyle's fourth permanent boss in 13 months and arrives to take charge of a side that are three points adrift at the bottom of the Championship, 11 games without a win, who are the joint-lowest scorers in the division and have the worst defence.

The underlying numbers don't make pretty reading either. No side has kept fewer clean sheets than Plymouth, who are also bottom of the Championship in terms of expected goals, expected goals conceded, and big chances (FotMob).

But Muslic will be feeling much cheerier about his task given what he watched from the stands at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday as Argyle won their first away game of the season to reach the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Plymouth Argyle showed they're better than their defensive record

Against a Bees side sporting plenty of top-flight talent, including Kevin Schade, Mikkel Damsgaard, returning duo Fabio Carvalho and Rico Henry, and later the likes of Bryan Mbeumo from the bench, Argyle put in a spirited defensive display.

It was not a huge surprise that they spent much of the game in their own half but they defended doggedly as required, looking more solid than their defensive record – the worst in the EFL – would suggest.

Players like Matthew Sorinola and Victor Palsson, who have come in for plenty of flak this term, were among those who impressed in West London, as the visitors showed a grit that has been lacking far too often in 2024/25 to keep their Premier League opposition at. Green shirts, time and time again, put their bodies in harm's way to deny the hosts while Conor Hazard was there to step in when required.

A key criticism of Plymouth this season has been their leaky backline, particularly on the road, but they showed against the Bees that they are better defensively than their torrid record under Rooney suggested.

Attacking quality is there but Miron Muslic will want to see more intent

Defensively, it will have been a promising watch for Muslic and he can certainly take positives from what Argyle showed going the other way as well ahead of his first game against Oxford United on Tuesday.

The Greens were measured in the way they played forward, mostly looking to the likes of Morgan Whittaker and Callum Wright to progress the ball. They had success through the latter in the first half and with the former in the second, while Wright combined well with Bali Mumba for Argyle's best chance before the break – surging into the box with a clever first touch after collecting the wing-back's backheel and then forcing a diving save out of Bees keeper Hakon Valdimarsson.

But it was Whittaker, the Argyle talisman whose drop-off this season has been a key contributor to their struggles, that provided the all-important moment of attacking quality to win the game. He cut in from the right and made the Brentford backline pay for allowing him the space to shoot by firing a low strike into the bottom corner in the 82nd minute.

The Green Army have seen the 24-year-old score goals like that countless times. In the first half of 2022/23 and throughout last season, he won plenty of games for Plymouth in just that manner, but he's been disappointing this term. The quality is there, you feel getting him to produce again will be high on Muslic's list of priorities.

There were glimpses of attacking quality from others as well. Wright looked like Plymouth's most dangerous player before the break, Bali Mumba and Sorinola weaved up and down the flanks, Mustapha Bundu made some dangerous runs off the bench, and the midfield duo of Caleb Roberts and Adam Randell moved the ball nicely.

Under the circumstances, Argyle's gameplan – in the words of Kevin Nancekivell to hang in the match, frustrate the Bees, and then make the most of their chances – was understandable and delivered them a first away win of the season but Muslic, a manager who demands an "always forward" mindset from his players, will want his side to attack faster and with more intent once he gets them going.

"The task for the players after winning the ball is clear," he told Voetball Trainer about his Cercle Brugge team in 2021. "Play forward! Find the deepest option or the Oppo 10. Never backwards! Never! That is a mindset. It is always forward. Why? We press to score goals and to create those moments of winning the ball. From the moment we win the ball, the moment is there to attack."

If he can deliver that at Home Park, the second half of the season, and beyond, will be an exciting prospect for the Greens' support.

The real work starts on Monday for Muslic, with Nancekivell confirming he'd be "handing over the keys and anything else he needs" then ahead of Tuesday's trip to Oxford.

There are clear positives for him to take from the Brentford win – both defensively and going forward – but perhaps most important will be the timely confidence boost that will help to lift the dark clouds surrounding Argyle of late.