John Sheridan has been officially confirmed as manager of Plymouth Argyle in succession to Carl Fletcher.
The former Republic of Ireland midfielder becomes the eighth manager to take charge of the Pilgrims in the last eight years.
With only one win in their last 16 matches in all competitions, Sheridan’s first target on taking over at Home Park will be to steer Argyle, who find themselves in 23rd position in Npower League Two, out of the relegation zone.
Another of the tasks facing the ex-Oldham Athletic and Chesterfield manager will be to find a replacement for experienced defender Darren Purse who joined Argyle’s opponents last Saturday, Port Vale.
Frenchman Maxime Blanchard, Curtis Nelson and rookie Jamie Richards are currently the only central defenders in the Pilgrims’ squad following Purse’s departure.
Sheridan will also need to address is the Pilgrims’ record in front of goal.
After scoring 29 goals in the league this season, Argyle are the fourth lowest scoring team in League Two.
At the time of writing, Paris Cowan-Hall is Argyle’s top scorer with four goals, whilst the Pilgrims’ next top scorers, Warren Feeney and Rhys Griffiths, have only found the back of the net three times each.
He will also be starting his new reign without the services of Nick Chadwick who was dismissed against Port Vale on Saturday.
After scoring 29 goals in the league this season, Argyle are the fourth lowest scoring team in League Two.
Thirdly, he will need to try and turn Home Park into a fortress again.
In their last 82 home league matches, from the start of the 2009-10 season to the present date, Argyle have only 23 games during this time.
One key factor in Argyle’s rise through the leagues under Paul Sturrock between 2001 and 2004 was the fact that Home Park was a difficult place to come to for visiting teams.
During this time, the Pilgrims won 47 of their 69 home league games.
With a 40 % win ratio during his career as a manager, this is something that Sheridan will no doubt be keen to improve on, starting with his first game in charge next Saturday against Morecambe.
