Plymouth Argyle boss Paul Mariner has declared his intention to help the club go straight back into the Championship.

The Pilgrims lost their battle against relegation on Monday as Newcastle United beat them 2-0 to seal the title.

Mariner told BBC Spotlight: "We thought we could get out of this situation, but we've come up a little short.

"If anybody knows me they know I've only ever been associated with success. I'm a winner and now we've got to start to rebuild for the future."

Monday's result ended Argyle's six-year stay in the second tier of English football, with Sheffield Wednesday and Crystal Palace's final-day encounter meaning it is impossible for them to stay up.

Plymouth have won just 11 matches in a season which has brought many more lows than highs.

Mariner said: "I feel the pain of the supporters because this is the club that gave me my first start.

"The reason I came here was because of the vision that the club can get into the Premiership.

"Now we've got another couple of hurdles before we do that but I firmly believe that we can do it."

606: DEBATE My question is - what next? plymouthtoffee

With two Championship games still remaining for the Pilgrims to see out, Mariner said he would endeavour to make sure the club finish the season on a high.

"We need to go to [Nottingham] Forest and win, and Peterborough need to come here and we need to beat them," he added.

"We need to finish off on a high to show our fans that we are determined to bounce back."

And signalling his intention to stay and bring Championship football back to Devon, the 56-year-old said: "We obviously need to look at the staff and we need to address certain situations, hopefully I'll be asked to do that. I want to do it."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version