Exclusive: Sky Sports pundit drops Tom Cleverley sack claim amid Plymouth Argyle crisis | OneFootball

Plymouth Argyle manager Tom Cleverley has been warned about keeping his job

Plymouth Argyle manager Tom Cleverley has been warned he must start getting results quickly before it’s too late.

After suffering relegation from the Championship last term, the Pilgrims look to be in serious danger of suffering a successive drop down to the fourth-tier.

Argyle are currently 23rd in the division having played 17 matches and already look to be embroiled in a battle to avoid relegation, losing 11 times.

Plymouth have been defeated in five of their last six outings and haven’t seriously looked like turning their form around all season. Despite this, Tom Cleverley has managed to keep his job without too much pressure being applied on his position.

The 36-year-old was dismissed as Watford FC boss at the end of last season due to a disappointing climax to the campaign, which saw the Hornets drop from play-off contention to 14th come May.

Lee Hendrie warns Tom Cleverley that results must improve quickly

Supporters have already begun to express their frustrations with Cleverley, with one fan in particular launching into a full rant against his position as manager during a recent Fans’ Forum held by Plymouth.

With four teams suffering relegation down to League Two, Argyle have no time to spare if they’re going to change manager, as they don’t want the gap to survival to grow much further.

Discussing the matter exclusively with Football League World, Sky Sports pundit and former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie believes that Cleverley must start upping performances and getting results at Home Park, otherwise frustration from supporters could boil over to a point of no return.

“I think sometimes you do need to know the league and that's where probably he's trying to find his way of getting the balance right at Plymouth,” stated Hendrie.

“I'm glad that Derek Adams and the chairman, Simon Hallett are looking to back him because hopefully that reflects to the fans.

“But obviously the fans are the big voice. They pay the money, and they want results.

“So that does need to change very quickly because, I think this is the prime time where your season can change quite quickly.”

Tom Cleverley must make huge changes to keep Plymouth Argyle job

After 17 matches of League One action, Cleverley must be aware by now that something in his system isn’t working and the tweaks he has made thus far haven’t made a difference.

The 36-year-old has chosen to deploy a three-back system which utilises wing-backs to try and exploit the opposition, but this has actually come back to bite the Pilgrims more often than not.

Cleverley may be better suited to completely switch his system and look to tighten up in defence. Plymouth have conceded 31 goals so far this term, which is League One’s highest total.

From there, the Pilgrims could look to hit teams on the break and use attacking talent such as Lorent Tolaj to strike home consistently. This would result in Argyle putting more points on the board, even if it isn’t the way Cleverley wants to play in the long term.

Unfortunately for him, he doesn’t have that luxury right now. If he doesn’t adapt to Plymouth’s current situation, he may soon find himself unemployed.