Tom Cleverley has called on Plymouth Argyle to carry the momentum of their pre-season Exeter cup victory into the new League One campaign, insisting the club must "hit the ground running" if they are to make their presence felt in the third tier.
Cup win as a confidence builder
Speaking on BBC Radio Devon, Cleverley was careful not to overstate the significance of a pre-season result, but he was equally clear that the win over Exeter had served a purpose beyond mere fitness work. For a squad that will need to gel quickly once competitive football resumes, any opportunity to build cohesion and winning habits is worth taking seriously.
"We need to hit the ground running," Cleverley said, in comments that will resonate with a Plymouth support that knows all too well how fragile starts can define an entire season. The third tier is rarely forgiving to sides that sleepwalk through their opening fixtures, and Cleverley gave the impression he has already made that point plainly to his players.
What the pre-season exercise tells us
Pre-season results carry an asterisk, of course. Squads are rarely at full strength, tactical shape is still being bedded in, and fitness loads mean managers are often working to a plan that has little to do with the scoreline. Cleverley will know better than most that a cup win over local opposition in August tells you only so much.
That said, pre-season is not entirely without meaning. Confidence travels. A group of players who go into their first competitive game having won recently, having performed to a plan, are in a better place than one that has spent the fortnight being disorganised. On that count, Cleverley is entitled to bank what he can from the Exeter fixture.
For Plymouth, the context matters too. The club are rebuilding their identity at this level following a period of turbulence, and every positive signal, however modest, is worth something to supporters who have endured their share of false dawns. Cleverley appears to understand that the fanbase needs to see an intent and urgency from the first whistle of the competitive season, not just from the third or fourth game when reality bites.
Expectation and the League One reality
League One in 2026 remains a division that punishes slow starters with a particular efficiency. Points dropped in August can haunt clubs come March, and the margin between the automatic promotion places and the bottom of the table is often compressed enough that individual results carry disproportionate weight.
Cleverley's message, then, is simple and sensible. Whatever the squad has worked on through the summer, whatever structures and ideas he has installed, the test begins when it counts. Plymouth, he suggested, cannot afford to use the early weeks as an extension of their warm-up.
Whether the squad has the depth and quality to back that ambition is something only competitive football will reveal. The Exeter win offered a small data point. The League One campaign will deliver the verdict.
Frequently asked
- Who is Plymouth Argyle's manager in 2026?
- Tom Cleverley is the Plymouth Argyle manager heading into the 2026-27 League One season.
- What league do Plymouth Argyle play in?
- Plymouth Argyle are currently playing in League One, the third tier of English football.
- Did Plymouth Argyle win their pre-season games in 2026?
- According to BBC Radio Devon, Plymouth beat Exeter in a pre-season cup fixture ahead of the new EFL season, with manager Tom Cleverley describing it as a springboard for the campaign.