Miron Muslic has pointed to the importance of Plymouth Argyle increasing their attacking threat as they fight to stay in the Championship.
The 42-year-old Austrian took charge of the bottom-of-the-table Pilgrims for the first time when they drew 1-1 against Oxford United at Home Park. Argyle have improved defensively in recent games as they have conceded only one goal in the last three, including the 1-0 Emirates FA Cup upset win away to Premier League club Brentford.
However, they are going to have to come up with ways to score more goals so they can win enough games to give themselves a chance to escape relegation to League One.
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Muslic received a warm welcome from the Green Army when he was introduced to them before the kick-off against Oxford and he walked along the side of the pitch to the home dug-out, and it was something he very much appreciated.
“The reception, that’s something you cannot imagine, maybe in some beautiful dreams, but when you go outside and you feel that, I was very much impressed,” he said.
“I was hoping for this somehow, but you never know. So now I know what it feels like to play a home game, and what Home Park and the Green Army can deliver. Nothing but respect for that, thank you very much.
“This will give us the boost we need and also the confidence we need. It’s like a 12th man almost for the future to face the challenge we have in front of us.
“The challenge will remain the same. It’s about where we will be after the last game (of the season) and there I’m very confident. Today I saw a team trying, especially the first half, the first 25-30 minutes. We tried.
“Don’t forget we only had one training session to prepare, to adapt, to organise ourselves, and it was a tactical walkthrough because it was matchday plus two after Brentford.”
Rami Al Hajj forced an excellent early save out of Oxford goalkeeper Jamie Cumming after he was set up by a cut-back from Tymoteusz Puchacz, the Poland international who was making his full debut for the Pilgrims after joining on loan from German Bundesliga club Holstein Kiel last Thursday.
“After that it’s a controlled game with not too many highlights on both sides,” said Muslic, who was pleased with his side’s defending but then saw Argyle fall behind to a fabulous strike from outside the box by Oxford midfielder Will Vaulks in the 44th minute.
The Pilgrims’ boss said: “It was a beautiful finish from 25 metres, top corner, that’s tough. The message in the half-time was we were okay in the game, we were structured, we were organised, we were creating chances and we didn’t give them a lot.
“They were always dangerous with the long throw-ins. I think that’s why they had so many touches inside our box. We had to continue with the defensive structure but also believe we could score and we could even turn this.”
Argyle hit back in the 64th minute a cross from Puchacz was headed into the far corner of the net by Al Hajj, but they had to settle for a draw as their winless run in the Championship extended to 12 games.
Muslic said: “We had some very nice combinations in the second half, players very well positioned in between the lines, but also with the width.
“It was a goal like we are going to score a lot of in the next weeks and months, high up on the pitch, a lot of players in and around the box and then occupy them, keep the attacking waves alive and then you can score.
“It was a beautiful goal from Al Hajj and that was enough for us today. We didn’t have the power to push for the second (goal). We tried and if you can’t win don’t lose it.
“It’s a point and we take this point. We have the next opportunity on Saturday against QPR and then we will try it again. Defensively, I think the last three games we have only conceded one goal. That’s okay, but we need to increase our offensive threat and I’m very confident we can do this.”
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