Plymouth Argyle have hit new low - 3 key factors have led to this for Tom Cleverley | OneFootball

The three key factors that've caused a recent slump in form for Plymouth Argyle.

Plymouth Argyle hit rock bottom when they fell to defeat at the hands of Exeter City last Thursday, and it seems there are three obvious factors which have caused Tom Cleverley's side to struggle upon their League One return.

The Pilgrims have got off to a rotten start this season, and their misery was compounded by their fiercest rivals on Thursday evening, after Exeter ran out comfortable winners in the first Devon Derby in over two years.

The performance from Argyle took everyone by shock, but not in a positive way, as they barely laid a glove on their opponents all night, and conceded two extremely poor goals from their perspective, as the Grecians punished the disarray in Plymouth's backline.

All in all, Exeter just looked a class above their rivals, which was unacceptable for the travelling Green Army. The supporters voiced their concerns in the wake of the result over producing such a flat performance in a hugely important and meaningful fixture.

Things got even worse for the Pilgrims on Tuesday evening, as they produced another disjointed performance against Mansfield Town, and suffered yet another defeat, leaving them sitting third from bottom in League One.

In the wake of the result, Cleverley was publicly given the vote of confidence by the board, leaving the fanbase divided on their opinion of whether this would turn out to be the correct call or not.

However, there are three key factors that must be considered after observing Argyle's recent run of poor form, which have all culminated in them hitting a new low after the damaging Devon Derby defeat.

Tom Cleverley is having to manage an injury crisis amid poor form

Unfortunately, as is often the case with poor form, fingers are pointed at the man in the dugout, as it's their job to pick the team and rally the players ahead of a big fixture.

This was the case for Cleverley in the wake of the defeat to Exeter, as supporters took to social media to voice their frustrations about the 36-year-old's team selection, tactics, and lack of adaptability in a game situation.

Whilst this is all valid criticism when you look at how the Exeter match unfolded, it's clear that Cleverley isn't being helped by the sheer number of injuries he's currently having to deal with in his relatively small squad.

The former Watford boss' injury list is huge, and it seems to keep growing and growing. Wingers Caleb Watts and Xavier Amaechi are both out long-term, along with experienced defenders Julio Pleguezuelo and Jack MacKenzie, who are also seemingly quite far off a return.

To rub salt in the wounds, it was revealed on Monday that the list had three new entries, with Ayman Benarous, Bradley Ibrahim, and Joe Edwards all picking up knocks post-Exeter.

With the small size of Plymouth's current squad, the number of injuries they've currently got is clearly unsustainable, and Cleverley is having to work hard to get the best out of what he's got at his disposal, which is certainly easier said than done.

It's obvious that nobody was expecting the number of injuries to be this severe, and the Pilgrims are now paying the price for their lack of depth, which is an issue that stems back to their summer recruitment struggles.

The Devon-based side had a hard time securing their targets in the transfer window, and went into the season with a real lack of quality in depth, which has come back to haunt them in the early stages.

Lack of squad depth saw Tom Cleverley change style of play to try and make the most of his fit squad

Just weeks ago, Argyle seemed to have turned a corner after a poor start to life in League One. Big victories over Stockport County and Burton Albion suggested that Cleverley's 4-2-3-1 system was working well with the players he had.

The Plymouth boss was opting to have two wingers and a number ten sit behind star striker Lorent Tolaj, which proved to be effective, as players such as Watts and Amaechi thrived in this role, and were able to help link the midfield to the striker.

Ibrahim was also impressing when he was deployed further forward, as he had more creative freedom to show his excellent passing range, and had also added goals to his game, giving the Greens another outlet behind Tolaj.

However, when the injury crisis arose, Cleverley was suddenly left without the players to play this system, and opted for a change to a 3-4-3 in recent weeks, which hasn't exactly yielded the results he would've hoped.

Argyle look overrun in midfield in this system, and the threat they had from the wings with Watts and Amaechi simply isn't there, which has left Tolaj cutting a rather frustrated figure as of late, as he just hasn't had the service.

Ibrahim has also been dropped back into holding midfield, as this new formation doesn't utilise a ten, which has somewhat nullified his threat going forward. The back three has also looked very disjointed, in comparison to the traditional back four.

Cleverley has previously spoken about having to change his style of play to accommodate the players that he currently has at his disposal, which can again be chalked up to the lack of depth in the wide areas, pretty much forcing him to try and adapt his style.

Plymouth don't have the luxury of having four or five wingers on their books who bring what Watts and Amaechi do to the side, meaning the Argyle boss has had to alter the way his team play, which hasn't helped the recent form.

Pointing the finger at the man in the dugout is extremely harsh, based on the number of issues Cleverley has faced in his first few months at Home Park.

However, a common criticism in recent weeks has been his lack of willingness to experiment with something new, especially when his side is struggling to grab any sort of foothold in a game.

Tuesday night's defeat against Mansfield was another example of this, as Argyle lined up in their 3-4-3 once again, and the same issues were exposed, with a lack of defensive stability and sloppiness in possession costing the Greens.

This led to further frustration from the Green Army, as this setup and more direct style of play isn't yielding the performances needed to get results, and instead of trying something new, Cleverley has stuck to his guns, which hasn't paid off yet.

Whilst the injuries in the squad make it very difficult for him to use his favoured system, the lack of adaptability when things aren't going well has left some concerned, as it seems like Plymouth are waiting and hoping for something to click, rather than trying to actively find that click.

However, with an FA Cup clash on the horizon against League One rivals Wycombe Wanderers, this presents Cleverley with a good opportunity to potentially experiment with squad selection and shape, and see if he can find something else that brings the best out of the players at his disposal.

Where Plymouth Argyle must go from here to start turning things around

There's no denying that right now is an extremely painful time for everyone connected with the Devon-based side, and the defeat at St James Park last Thursday was hugely damaging for the morale of the entire club.

However, the Green Army is one of the most passionate, loyal, and supportive fanbases in the EFL, and just one spark could bring a much-needed lift for not only the supporters, but players and staff as well.

Cleverley has been publicly backed by his board, which will give him a great deal of confidence heading into the upcoming fixtures, but he must not take this for granted, and instead show the board they were correct to back him.

As mentioned, the FA Cup clash with Wycombe at the weekend is the perfect opportunity to try something new, get a morale-boosting victory on the board, and use this as a platform to build on as the Greens look to revitalise their league form.

Of course, there is nothing Cleverley or Argyle can do about injuries, but the start of the season may come as a wake-up call for January, and they must ensure they have sufficient depth in all positions come the end of the winter transfer window.

All-in-all, the struggles Plymouth are currently enduring are due to a culmination of factors, and not just a single thing. They must learn from these issues if they want to turn their fortunes around in the future.