Western Morning News (Saturday)
Grant puts run of good form down to boss’ faith
MIDFIELDER Conor Grant believes he has been playing some of the best football of his career for Plymouth Argyle this season.
The 25-year has had a regular run of games for the first time since signing for the Pilgrims from Everton in 2018.
Grant has been grateful for the faith shown in him by Argyle manager Ryan Lowe and doing his best to repay him for that.
He reckons it has been his best spell in football since he had a loan spell with Doncaster Rovers, also in League One, in the 2015/16 season.
Grant was voted by Plymouth Live readers as Argyle’s player-of-themonth for September.
He has scored three goals this season in 18 games, and also come up with a team-high five assists.
Grant has been in central midfield for most of the time, although he did play at left wing-back in the 2-1 league defeat by Ipswich Town at Home Park last Saturday.
On his fine form this season, Grant said: “I would say it is up there with when I was at Doncaster the first spell.
“I do feel a lot more mature, and probably a lot more mentally mature as well.
“I’m in a good run of form and I just want to continue that, and it’s all down to hard work really.
“I know the manager has got faith in me, that’s important, so I feel like I’m repaying him well. It just shows last week, putting me at left wingback.
“It’s not maybe the position people would think I would play in, but he trusted me to do a job there.
“It’s so important going on the pitch knowing he gives me that trust and the belief in my ability.”
Grant was signed for Argyle by former manager Derek Adams but has been able to prove himself to Lowe too
That has not been a new experience for the midfielder who had five loan spells while he was at Everton.
Grant said: “It was a case of every six months you were restarting again. You were doing the same process where it’s like the first day at school again.
“You have got to impress and show you are capable of being in their team.”
Grant also believes Argyle’s step up to League One after their promotion last season has suited him as well.
He said: “I think it’s a lot more technical in League One. In League Two the ball is in the air a lot more.
“It’s going back to front pretty quickly, and I would say that’s the majority of the teams to be honest.
“In League One there is a lot more football being played and a lot more tactics and game understanding. I think that helps me and it suits me from where I have come from.”
The left wing-back role is not new to Grant as he played there a few times under Adams during the 2018/19 campaign.
Grant said: “I was a left winger as a kid coming through the Everton academy so I’m sort of familiar with that side of the pitch, and what to do. I’m happy to play anywhere.”
After a promising start to the season, Argyle have lost four successive league games going into the fixture against Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
The 15th-placed Pilgrims are three points and four positions above Rovers, who appointed former Exeter
City boss Paul Tisdale last month.
Reflecting on the recent run of poor results, Grant said: “A couple of moments have not gone our way, which can happen throughout a season.
“It’s just important that we learn from it and we try and correct as quick as possible.”
He continued: “As we have seen the last few weeks, if we are not fully at it then teams in this league will punish us.
“What might have went our way early on in the season is sort of going against us - maybe that bit of football luck, which you need.
“It’s all down to hard work on the training pitch and then putting the game plans into place, and hopefully you do get a bit of football luck which gets you results.”