Western Morning News (Saturday)
Argyle starting to click together, says Ness
Midfielder Jamie Ness believes Plymouth Argyle are finally starting to click together as a team.
The Pilgrims picked up only seven points, and one win, from their first 14 games in League One this season, leaving them bottom of the table.
However, Argyle have since had back-to-back wins, 3-1 against Gillingham at Home Park and 4-1 win away to Scunthorpe United.
Third-placed Sunderland, who will provide tough opposition for the Pilgrims at Home Park today, are on a run of five wins and two draws from their last seven games.
However, Ness and his teammates have been buoyed by their victories over Gillingham and Scunthorpe, which have seen them move up to 22nd position.
Ness said: “I think the last two games have been the closest we have looked to the team we were last season. It has given the whole place a lift.
“Obviously, the start of the season we have had has been disappointing. In a way, it’s almost the same as last year.
“It has just taken us a bit of time to get together and it feels like the last couple of games it has really clicked for us.
“We just need to focus on keep doing what we are doing, keep working hard on it and hopefully the results will come.”
The win against Scunthorpe was especially satisfying for Ness because it came against his former club.
The midfielder spent two seasons with the Glanford Park club before moving to Argyle in the summer of 2017.
Ness had missed out on a return to Scunthorpe in the penultimate match of last season, which was televised by Sky as both teams were in playoff contention, because of injury.
This time, though, Ness played his part in Argyle’s first away league win of the campaign. Ness said: “It was the first time back there since I had left.
“Obviously, I was really disappointed to miss the game there last season at a crunch time. It was nice to go back and we managed to take the Gillingham game into that one and we picked up where we left off there. We are in a good place at the moment so long may it continue.
“We knew they [Scunthorpe] had been struggling. They had lost the last four or five and had a few key players missing.
“We saw it as a great opportunity to go there and win. I think we were ruthless, we played really well on the day and deserved to win by that amount, if not more.”
He added: “It was nice to go back and see a few familiar faces.
“There weren’t many though. I think there are only three players left from when I was there. That’s just the nature of the game at the moment. It was nice to be back and I had a couple of friends come to the game as well. Most importantly, it was just good to get the three points.”
Ness was not the only former Scunthorpe player in action for Argyle, with Niall Canavan playing the whole game at centre-back but also scoring the second goal, with a header from a corner on the stroke of half-time.
“He had quite a bit of stick, even when he was a player there, so it was nice for him to go back and score,” said Ness.
“He managed to get a little celebration in. I think he was just delighted to get the three points. He has come back into the team after his injury and performed really well in the last couple of games.
“Everyone is starting to click together at the moment, which is positive signs.”
The visit of Sunderland, who were in the Premier league as recently as the 2016/17 season, is set to attract a five-figure attendance to Home Park.
There is a reduced capacity of around 12,500 while redevelopment work on the grandstand takes place.
Ness said: “We are really looking forward to it.”