Miron Muslic delivers verdict on Preston North End and Luton Town factor prior to Plymouth Argyle clash

Plymouth Argyle boss Miron Muslic is well aware of Preston North End’s recent form and the significance of Saturday’s game at Deepdale.

It was always set to be a crunch fixture for the Pilgrims, who remain bottom of the Championship table with two games to go - but still fighting for survival. The Austrian-Bosnian head coach was appointed in January as Wayne Rooney’s successor; he has guided Argyle to 23 points in 19 league games.

They still face a sizable challenge to stay in the second tier but it is mathematically possible, heading into the weekend’s round of fixtures. PNE are far from out of the woods themselves, though Muslic is focusing on his own side and their motivation to take it down to the final day.

"Yeah, the situation has changed for them," said Muslic. "From absolutely being safe and in the middle of nowhere, so they can purely and freely play, to not winning a lot of games in the last 10/12 rounds and suddenly, you can get in a mess. So, for sure they have something to play for but our objective is way bigger.

He added: "I think we are adapting, week-by-week - better in our structure, organisation and everything I always wanted. We are getting closer to being aggressive, intense, brave, defending together, attacking together, having a transitional threat and being very much annoying, also, in set-pieces.

“I think we are in a good way. Recent weeks confirmed our self-confidence and there is belief inside this team that we can achieve this. The next must-win is around the corner and we can only control what we have in our hands and that is purely our performance.”

“That is just the situation we have to deal with...”

One factor on Saturday is the early kick-off between 22nd placed Luton Town and sixth placed Coventry City, at 12:30pm. Both Preston and Plymouth will be hoping for a Sky Blues triumph, as it would all but guarantee North End’s survival - and keep Argyle within touching distance of the Hatters.

On that early kick-off, Muslic said: "No, absolutely not (any way we can hide that result from the players). That is just the situation we have to deal with. Regardless of what happens one-and-a-half hours before, our obligation is to go out and give it our all. That is exactly the mindset we have inside this team and if you look at the last performance against Coventry, we are ready to do this."

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