Sturrock has struggled to get a settled defensive four at Plymouth this season

Plymouth Argyle manager Paul Sturrock will be forced to make further changes to his back-line for Saturday's trip to Preston in the Championship.

Tuesday's 1-0 defeat by Swansea saw right-back David Gray go off injured, while central defender Shane Lowry was sent off.

Sturrock told BBC Radio Devon: "It's not ideal - the defence has caused us a lot of problems this year."

Plymouth are currently second-bottom in the league after 12 defeats this term.

The Scot has been desperate for a settled back four at Home Park all season, and the dismissal of Lowry is just the latest in a string of defensive set-backs for him.

"He's [Lowry] a young boy and he gets himself excited," said Sturrock.

"The game's not going in the right direction for him, and it was a bit of stupidity. I'll have a word with him," he added.

The Pilgrims have gone down 1-0 in their previous three games, a scoreline that Sturrock is determined not to become too familiar with.

"I did feel that was a deja-vu scenario as far as discussing the game [Swansea] because it was very similar to the last two games in that we've had chances and we haven't taken those chances.

"I'm gutted for everybody because these games have been cut and thrust."

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