(Photo: Pro Sport Images)
By Paul Eddison
FOR eight years after the turn of the millennium, Plymouth Argyle improved on their league position every season – culminating in just missing out on the Championship play-offs in 2008.
But, after a dramatic freefall that had them scrambling for their Football League status, club captain Luke McCormick believes the Devon side are ready to make another march up the leagues.
McCormick's own fall from grace has been well-documented, with Argyle's slide coinciding with the keeper's conviction for causing death by dangerous driving after a crash that killed two children.
The 33-year-old spent nearly four years behind bars, but, after short spells with Truro City and Oxford United, he returned to Home Park in 2013.
Last month, he notched up a 300th appearance for the club, having made 157 in his first spell and approaching that number in his second.
The next ambition for McCormick is to help the club back to the second tier – where he believes they belong.
He said: “It's something I am really proud of, to have reached 300 appearances. I have spent a lot of time at this club. I really like it and they have been really good to me.
“I am happy, not just on the field but off it. It's a very different situation now. I arrived here as a 15-year-old, just leaving home and school.
“The club has changed to a certain degree, but the supporters have stuck in there and got behind us home and away. In that sense, it's still the good old club I remember.
“(A return to the Championship) is what the supporters deserve. Both the club and the fans have experienced difficult times, so we want to give them something to shout about.”
So far Argyle are doing just that, overcoming two early league defeats to go on a run of seven straight wins on the road and 38 points from a possible 42 ahead of the weekend.
Of course sitting pretty at the top of League Two in November is no guarantee of promotion, as Argyle found out a year ago.
They fell away in the New Year, with Northampton romping to the title, eventually suffering play-off heartache against AFC Wimbledon.
That was the first season under Derek Adams, but McCormick believes Argyle have found the formula to avoid a repeat – crucially thanks to a major squad turnover in the summer.
“We worked extremely hard in pre-season to try to integrate 16 new players into the squad,” he added.
“We didn't get off to a good start but we always knew it would take a bit of time.
“Last season we got quite a lot of injuries around Christmas, that really hurt us, but I think we are better equipped with the guys in the squad this year if that happens again.”
