Going into this weekend’s match against 23rd-placed Scunthorpe, Plymouth Argyle manager Ryan Lowe has refused to underestimate Paul Hurst’s team, describing their lowly standing as a “false position”.

“Paul Hurst is a fantastic manager, he’s been there, done it, seen it, he’s probably got one of the best squads in the league. There’s a lot of players in there that have been Championship level and certainly League One level, so we don’t take anything for granted.”

“We know they are down the bottom; we said this a few weeks ago they are in a false position for me. I don’t know what’s going on there, but listen, they’re not turning up here just to make their numbers up, they’re turning up here to try and get a win.”

Lowe also referenced the blatant cheating controversial goal Scunthorpe scored in the end-of-season shoot-out last May, as Josh Morris lobbed the ball over the injured Matt Macey: “I’m not too bothered to be honest, that was last season, it’s done. We haven’t even mentioned it.”

Lowe also confirmed that winger George Cooper broke his nose and cracked his cheekbone after taking a boot to the face at Mansfield last week. While Cooper will not undergo surgery – which would rule him out for three months – he probably will not be ready for the visit of the Irons.

Lowe said: “Well he doesn’t want an operation and he doesn’t have to have one now, he can wait. He’s missed a lot of football as of late and he doesn’t want to miss anymore, so if it’s a hairline fracture or a crack in his jaw or his cheekbone, it’s irrelevant.”

“It has only got to heal, so for him to get a plate in there, he’s going to be out for like three months and he doesn’t really want that, and I don’t want that. It would be a long time out, so he’s seeing a specialist.”

“It depends what the specialist comes back with today. If he says it’s a crack in there but it’s healing and can get a mask within twenty-four hours, then he will be available.”