Play-offs now a realistic aim for in-form Plymouth
Tom Cleverley's Plymouth Argyle have won five of their last six League One matches
- Published
Five wins from their last six league matches have given rise to League One play-off hopes for Plymouth Argyle.
Another excellent performance away from Home Park, which has for a few years been the club's Achilles heel, saw them dominate a Wigan side who had won back-to-back home games following head coach Gary Caldwell's appointment.
Two quickfire goals from Bim Pepple - who now has 10 goals in 11 matches for the Greens - and a clinching strike from Caleb Watts approximately 20 minutes from time sealed a 3-0 win in Greater Manchester on Tuesday night.
But it is their new-found defensive solidity, formed by an improved Mathias Ross and Charlton Athletic loanee Alex Mitchell, which has arguably been just as impressive as their attacking spark.
Adding that to the smart signing of Ronan Curtis, as well as the loan additions of Herbie Kane and Wes Harding, in the January transfer window and Argyle now look capable of gatecrashing the top six for the first time this season.
"I thought the second goal was one of the best we've scored all season, so deservedly [we] went in at half-time two goals to the good," Argyle boss Tom Cleverley told BBC Radio Devon after the match at the Brick Community Stadium.
"Ronan [Curtis] has been outstanding since he's come to the football club and he's ours.
"Herbie, we're obviously very happy with. I'd like him to be ours, he's doing great for the football club and he adds real class into the middle of the park and you can put Wes Harding in that [class] bracket as well.
"He's [Herbie Kane] a real football nut, he watches every level of football. He loves the game, he studies the game and he just loves playing."
Two goals by Bim Pepple in the win at Wigan took his overall season's goal tally in League One to 12
It was pretty much the perfect night on Tuesday with play-off rivals Stevenage and Reading both losing.
Coincidentally, Argyle face Reading and Stevenage in their next two fixtures before clashes against fellow play-off hopefuls Huddersfield, Bradford and Bolton, which will likely define their season by the time Easter comes around.
Argyle will go into that run with real confidence - completely putting to bed any lingering threats they were about to suffer back-to-back relegations - and looking like a totally different side to the one in the bottom four as recently as early January.
On new fan-favourite Pepple, Cleverley said: "Confidence is a huge part of a footballer's armoury.
"In October, you would find Bim on a pitch by himself, finishing, doing fitness work.
"To improve, a player has to have the right mindset, a desire to improve – the player's character is what has got him here and he's in great form."
And with fellow striker Lorent Tolaj remaining unavailable through injury, keeping Pepple firing could be crucial to Argyle's hopes of returning to Wembley come the League One play-off final on Sunday, 24 May.
