Plymouth Argyle manager Ryan Lowe has revealed that all five of his first-team strikers are fit for this weekend’s clash at Port Vale, leaving him with a selection dilemma. Dominic Telford – absent since the 3-0 victory against Walsall – and Joel Grant – injured since the second match of the season against Colchester – have both returned to full-fitness.
Lowe said: “The two of them are fully fit now, they can go right in if they’re selected – I haven’t got an issue with that. But, you’ve got players who are slugging it out there and performing well.”
“Ryan Taylor’s been running around with a bit of a knock on his ankle, even though he’s missed two or three days of training,” said Lowe of his striking options. “Byron [Moore]’s come back, he’s scored two in two. Zak Rudden came on to the pitch on Saturday and gave everything, he was unfortunate not to score. So, those two now are in a pack of five – you can throw the cards up and see where it lands.”
Meanwhile, Will Aimson is yet to return to full-fitness, despite starting the Central League against MK Dons. His injury dates back to last season with Bury, but he is getting closer to competing for a spot in the starting eleven.
Lowe was also happy to be playing on the wider than average playing surface at Vale Park: “We play football so, for me, it’ll benefit us massively. The way we want to play, we’ll make the pitch even bigger. You try to make the pitch big anyway, every game we play in, to make angles for each other.”
“We’ll use any advantage we can get; the pitch is nice and big,” said Ryan. “The problem is, you don’t want to give the ball away, because you have to work even harder to get it back if it is a little bit bigger.”