Exclusive: David Prutton gives Plymouth Argyle hope in relegation battle | OneFootball

The Greens have it all to do at the bottom of the Championship, sitting six points adrift with eight matches remaining

David Prutton has refused to write Plymouth Argyle off at the bottom of the Championship table, but admits the Pilgrims have a huge task on their hands to avoid relegation this season.

The Greens find themselves six points from safety with eight matches of the second tier campaign still to come after the international break, with a damaging 3-2 defeat to Derby County last time out compounding their issues in their fight against the drop.

Miron Muslic has stuttered recently after a bright start to life at Home Park, with the Austrian unable to fix the defensive issues that plagued the Devon side in the first-half of the season under Wayne Rooney.

One win in seven league games has seen Argyle struggle to keep touch with the sides around them of late, but Prutton believes there could still be hope for a side that have been battling the drop for the majority of the campaign.

David Prutton gives Plymouth Argyle relegation view after Derby County defeat

Marcus Harness’ brace sealed Argyle’s fate in the basement battle against Derby last time out, with the Pilgrims struggling to deal with the aerial bombardment that the Rams brought for much of the 90 minutes.

The former Portsmouth man netted the first after the hosts failed to clear a long throw into the penalty area, before Harrison Armstrong buried a loose ball from the edge of the box from a similar scenario.

Mustapha Bundu halved the deficit with a stunning free-kick before Nat Phillips’ own goal levelled matters just after the break, before Harness grabbed his second of the game to see Argyle succumb to a 19th defeat of the season.

Victory on Saturday would have left the Greens just three points from safety with eight games to play, but right now they have six points to make up, and three teams to clamber over if they are to extend their stay in the Championship for at least another season.

While the mood at Home Park is sombre right now, Prutton doesn’t think all is lost for the Pilgrims as we head into the run-in.

Speaking exclusively to FLW, the EFL pundit said: “I think the reaction from the Derby County players really did sum up how big potentially that win could be for them.

“I don’t think Plymouth Argyle are dead and buried, and there will still be a few more twists between now and the end of the season, but the job that Miron Muslic was brought in to do was to make sure that they are above the bottom three come the final whistle of the final game of the season.

“I just think that is a very tough proposition, who would have thought at the start of the season that Luton Town would be down there keeping them company, and there will be three or four teams above the bottom three looking nervously over their shoulder.

“They are not out of touch, they are bending at the moment and not broken as yet. There are still games to do it, but we are very firmly in the territory where they need to do exactly what they need to do, and then pray and hope that other teams mess up their run-in.

“So it is very intriguing, very dramatic and very exciting from the outside looking in, but there is a state of hypertension for everyone involved with Argyle between now and the end of the season.”

Plymouth Argyle can take heart from 23/24 Championship run-in ahead of relegation battle

For the second season in a row, Argyle find themselves teetering on the edge of a return to League One with a handful of games remaining, and all hope seemingly lost in the southwest.

Last year, it took Ian Foster’s dismissal to mark a turnaround in fortunes, with the management duo of Neil Dewsnip and Kevin Nancekivell taking charge for the final six matches of the season, winning three and drawing one to claim survival in the most dramatic of circumstances.

Joe Edwards’ winner against Hull City on the final day of the season eventually go the job done last time around, and as they stare down the barrel of relegation once again this time around, they must be looking to gain inspiration from their survival job just 12 months ago.

Captain Edwards [pictured] has slowly started to make his return to the first-team after a hamstring issue sustained back in October, and his leadership qualities could be crucial in keeping Argyle afloat for as long as possible in the weeks to come, with wins a necessity once domestic football resumes at the end of the month.

A trip to Watford is followed by the hosting of Norwich City as we head into April, before the Greens make the midweek trip to Swansea City ahead of a visit of Sheffield United to Home Park.

The Blades encounter marks the start of a horrific-looking run of fixtures to end the season for the Pilgrims, with Middlesbrough, Coventry City and Leeds United all still to play, as well as a trip to Deepdale to face Preston North End.

Having produced a similar miracle last season, there will be few who have completely written Argyle off just yet, but with points at a premium right now, the fortnight break might be exactly what they need ahead of a crucial run of fixtures that will define their season.