Greens on Screen Tour

Back to

Sweden 2005

Sweden 2005: Western Morning News (Rupert Metcalf)

ARGYLE GEAR UP FOR TOUR

July 18

Plymouth Argyle arrived here in Sweden late last night all set for a tough and rewarding week of training, after opening their pre-season friendly programme with a 1-1 draw at Torquay United on Saturday. The Pilgrims will be playing three matches during their sojourn in Scandinavia - against Betsele tomorrow, Umea on Thursday and Holmsund next Saturday - but the results of their tour fixtures are far less important than the work they will be doing on their training pitch at Kamratvallen (IFK Holmsund's home ground, a five-minute jog from their hotel). "Fitness work is the main aim of the tour," Argyle manager Bobby Williamson said. "The trip will also give us time to work on a lot of things, such as shape and different styles of play. We prefer working with a back four, but we'll probably try out playing with a back five as well. This sort of work could have been done in England, but the benefit of a foreign tour is the time the players spend together on and off the pitch. The buzz word is bonding. This trip will give everybody the chance to get to know one another better. We've got four or five new players at the club, so the tour gives them the opportunity to get to know the rest of the guys. It's a very important time of the season."

PLAYERS GET TO WORK AS INTEREST GROWS IN DJORDJIC'S HOMECOMING

July 19

In this remote corner of Sweden, it would be an exaggeration to claim that Plymouth Argyle are celebrities, but their presence in Holmsund is being widely publicised. Tonight, when the Pilgrims travel north to Lapland to commence their tour fixtures against Betsele IF, IFK Holmsund will be playing the region's biggest club, Umea FC, to launch the Plymouth Argyle Cup back at Kamratvallen, Holmsund's home stadium - which is also the English team's training ground. The three-team tournament, which will also see Argyle play Umea on Thursday and Holmsund on Saturday, is being advertised around the area with posters and newspaper notices. For an outlay of 100 Swedish krone, about £7.50, local football fans can buy a ticket for all three matches.

It is not only the matches that are being publicised. The locals are also being invited to watch Argyle's training sessions, of which there are two a day except when evening matches are scheduled. Yesterday morning's session, which a dozen or so curious Swedes turned out to witness, was by no means strenuous. Quite right too, given that the players had endured a journey of over 13 hours the previous day. Jogging and stretching was on the agenda with no ball work. Physiotherapist and fitness trainer Paul Maxwell was in charge of this part of the training, with manager Bobby Williamson plus coaches Jocky Scott and Geoff Crudgington looking on from the touchline. That was followed by another example of the impact the Pilgrims are making in this locality - a press conference attended by almost as many media folk as Taribo West attracted to Home Park on the day he was signed by Argyle. The two journalists who have travelled here from Plymouth were joined by seven or eight sportswriters and television reporters from Sweden.

It was probably the first bilingual press conference the Pilgrims have staged. Argyle director Damon Lenszner and his IFK Holmsund counterpart, Anders Forsberg, co-hosted the event. Williamson fielded three or four questions, but the main attraction was very much Bojan Djordjic. The former Manchester United and Sweden Under-21 winger switched with ease between English and Swedish as he answered questions - an impressive feat when you consider that neither language is native to the Belgrade-born player. The Swedish media followed Djordjic to the training ground for the afternoon session, which attracted about 20 spectators. This time the balls came into play. Goalkeeper coach Crudgington took Romain Larrieu and Luke McCormick to a separate pitch for some specialised work. Despite the heat, it looked like fun. The jokes and the smiles kept coming. None of the training exercises were familiar from the previous two years in Austria. Variety, and prevention of boredom, is on the practice-ground menu. The only player not to join in the ball work and contact training was Djordjic, who is recovering from a knee injury sustained in practice last week. He did plenty of running, however, and hopes to play in the tour's second game against Umea on Thursday. No doubt, for the locals at least, he will once again be the centre of attention.

WORKING OUT

Plymouth Argyle will venture north to Lapland tonight and, they hope, take a big step in their preparations for the forthcoming Coca-Cola Championship campaign. The Pilgrims play the first of three fixtures on their tour to Sweden against Betsele IF, a part-time outfit whose ability is likely to be comparable to that of a good Southern League side back home. The strength of the opposition, however, is less relevant to Argyle than the opportunity the game provides to give half their squad 90 minutes of match action for the first time this summer. When Argyle commenced their pre-season schedule against Torquay United at Plainmoor on Saturday, no Pilgrim played for more than an hour. Most were only given a half. Tonight, in the Lapland town of Lycksele, it will be different.

Argyle manager Bobby Williamson wants to give whichever 11 players he chooses for starting roles tonight a full game, and he will then hope to repeat the exercise with the rest of his squad when the Pilgrims tackle Umea FC on Thursday, in the second game of the tour. "We'll be asking players to play full matches from now on," Williamson said last night. "We'll see how it goes. We'll have players on the bench, but we'll only use them if necessary. We want them to start getting through 90 minutes now. That's how you get full fitness. I'm not really fussed which 11 players start the game tomorrow, though," the Scot added. "We're not bothered about performance levels yet, we're just working away at getting fitness levels up. Nobody should read anything into the teams I pick pre-season."

The intrepid Argyle fans who make it to Lycksele tonight may be rewarded with the first sight in an Argyle shirt of Nuno Mendes, a tall Portuguese central defender who has been on trial with the Pilgrims for a fortnight and has been brought to Sweden. The 27-year-old spent last season with Portuguese second division side Santa Clara, and has also played for Strasbourg in France and several other clubs in his homeland. He has looked assured and very competent in training. Argyle are also taking a look at another trialist, a striker from an eastern European country who met up with the team in Stockholm on Sunday en route to Holmsund. The only player in the Pilgrims' travelling party who will not be considered for tonight's game is Bojan Djordjic. The winger is, however, recovering well from a knee injury sustained in training last week and may feature against Umea. Goalkeeper Romain Larrieu might also be kept in reserve until Thursday, as he has been hindered by a slight thigh strain.

Williamson supervised two training sessions yesterday, when the Pilgrims had to cope with hot and sticky weather in Holmsund. "The conditions were difficult," the Scot said. "It's been extremely warm, which has sapped the players' energy, and there have been a lot of mosquitoes flying around and a lot of the players have been suffering from hay fever. But we just have to get on with it and get the training sessions under our belt, and we're looking forward to our first game."

Jocky and Bobby conduct a post training chat

MAN WITH A PAST LOOKS TO FUTURE WITH THE PILGRIMS

Bojan Djordjic has played international football for Sweden, from Under-15 to Under-21 level, but he is not a Swede. That was evident yesterday evening, when he sat in a hotel lounge in Holmsund and, with some exasperation, told the tale of his encounter with the Swedish media earlier in the day. Plymouth's Argyle's new left-winger has packed a lot of living into his 23 years. He was born in Belgrade when it was the capital of the old Yugoslavia and, as he is part of a Bosnian Serb family, he was living in Sarajevo when ethnic tension turned into war in 1992. Djordjic was just ten years old. To him, Muslims and Croats were his school pals, not his enemies. It was a traumatic time. "Bosnia was the worst place to be," he said.

Unlike far too many people in that war-torn city, however, he had an escape route. His father, Branko, was also a professional footballer. The former Yugoslav international had concluded his playing career in Sweden, and it was this Scandinavian country which provided the Djordjic family with a home from home. Djordjic Jnr honed his football skills in Sweden, and at the age of 16 he was lucky enough to be given the chance to go to Manchester United and gain, as he describes it, a 'football education. I learned how to receive a ball, and how to pass a ball.' Djordjic became a very good footballer at Old Trafford, but such was the ferocity of the competition that first-team football was hard to come by. He went out on loan to rectify that, to Sheffield Wednesday initially and then, for complete seasons, to Aarhus in Denmark and to Red Star in his home city. After a spell with Rangers in Scotland earlier this year, he found his way to Plymouth. Home Park is where he wants to build a reputation as a Football League player, rather than be remembered as a once-promising youngster.

Some of the Swedish journalists who came to Holmsund yesterday to talk to Djordjic, however, were more interested in the past than the future. "I was asked about why I chose Manchester United. Was it a bad option for me? No, it wasn't, I told them. It was quite upsetting at times. I was asked if I see myself as a failure. No, I said, I'm 23-years-old and I've been at some big clubs. I know what it takes to make it to the top. "The Swedes can be strange sometimes. You can't go over the top of the group. Everybody has to be the same. But in a team you have hard workers, and then you have hard workers with ability. They will be more in people's eye. In England we understand that, but in Sweden it is different. I'm not Swedish, but they gave me the opportunity to find myself again. My name is never going to be Svensson, though. My blood is Serbian, not Swedish. The foreigners in this country, they take to me. They say: 'If he can do it, why can't I?' They understand what I have achieved. If I was such a failure, I wouldn't have a club now. I am at a good club, with ambitions."

This year Plymouth will be home to Djordjic, not Sweden or Serbia. He has settled in quickly at Argyle, and is already a cheerful and ebullient presence in the dressing room. "I think the boys have taken to me as well as I have to them," he said. "This is important. If we are pulling in the same direction, and we can show commitment and ability on top of that, then we will do well next season. It will be a tough season, but we will be prepared. We will have a good team this year, and we will try to put Plymouth back on the map. We are in the Championship now, not Division Three any more. We have to step it up a gear. Hopefully we can be the surprise package, like we were at the start of last season, but this time I hope we can sustain it." Djordjic has set out his targets, and nobody can doubt that he will try his hardest to achieve them. "Plymouth have given me a stage," he said, "and now I have to perform." It promises to be fun to watch

SWEDISH TOUR DRAWS PARALLELS TO DAVID KEMP'S CLASS OF 1990

July 20

For Plymouth Argyle, this foreign expedition is their fifth successive summer tour. They have spent the last two years in Austria, and before that the Pilgrims made two trips to Scotland. This is not their first trip to Sweden, however. Back in 1990, when David Kemp was Argyle manager, the Pilgrims came to the south-west of the country for a pre-season tour. Then, as they are doing this week, they played three matches while they were abroad. They started their tour with a 3-2 win over Tvaaker with two goals from former West Ham midfielder Adam King and one from winger David Byrne. After a 0-0 draw against IFK Trelleborg, Argyle saved their best display of the tour for the final game. They beat Lund 3-1 thanks to a hat-trick from youngster Owen Pickard. Then as now, the Pilgrims took a trialist central defender on tour. This summer it is Nuno Mendes from Portugal, then it was former Sheffield United stopper Darren Carr. He was not offered a contract, and the only subsequent occasion he came to the attention of Argyle fans was when he started a brawl which led to four players being sent off at Chesterfield several years later.

They were in Sweden because of the contacts made by Kemp when he had started his coaching career in the country. Once again, it is a similar situation this year. The Pilgrims' director of youth Stuart Gibson spent much of his playing career in Sweden, and one of his clubs was IFK Holmsund, Argyle's hosts this week. Berndt Bostrom, one of Gibson's Holmsund team-mates in the late '80s, is the local organiser of this Argyle tour. His son, Tobias, will be part of the IFK squad which will face the Pilgrims in the final fixture on Friday. Tobias has spent some time training with the Pilgrims' youth team at Home Park. "The idea of this tour started three years ago," his father explained yesterday, "when my son and three other players from Holmsund went to Plymouth. We talked about bringing Plymouth here with Paul Sturrock, but he took the team elsewhere. This year, though, we were told in April that Plymouth would be coming here to Sweden or going to Portugal. We told them all about our facilities, and now they are here. It is good for us."

Sweden was good for Gibson, too. A central defender in his playing days, he represented six or seven clubs as well as Holmsund. With all due respect, though, Gibson is not the most famous British player to have played for Holmsund. "In 1986," Bostrom added, "we had Vinnie Jones here for our summer season, as well as two other players from Wimbledon. Vinnie did well for us." Gibson's spell with Holmsund came two years later. "He was very hard in the middle of the back-line," Bostrom said. "He played a great game for us against Wimbledon, two months after they won the FA Cup. He was very good against John Fashanu, Dennis Wise and Vinnie. It was one of the best games I saw Stuart play." Bostrom is just one of a host of locals who have made the Pilgrims feel welcome here. "All the people here at IFK Holmsund have worked very hard," he said, "and none of them takes any money for this. Everyone here knows Plymouth now. Argyle have found many new supporters in the north of Sweden."

ARGYLE WARM-UP IN STYLE WITH NINE-GOAL ROUT OF PART-TIMERS

Plymouth Argyle earned a comfortable victory in the first match of their tour to Sweden last night, with both Akos Buzsaky and Nick Chadwick collecting two goals each against game but outclassed opponents. The Pilgrims' rivals last night, Betsele, play in one of Sweden's 12 regionalised fourth-tier leagues. They attracted a crowd of about 300 to their picturesque lakeside ground - an attendance which included maybe 15 hardy Argyle fans who had made the trek to Lapland.

Having signed a one-year contract with the Pilgrims earlier in the day, Portuguese defender Nuno Mendes made his first appearance for Argyle last night. He lined up alongside Taribo West in central defence, while Scott Taylor was accompanied in attack by trialist Ingemar Teever, an Estonian international striker who has been training with Argyle this week. The Pilgrims conceded two corners in the first two minutes, but they took the lead in the fourth minute. Bjarni Gudjonsson played a short pass in from the right flank to Buzsaky, who thumped a right-foot shot high into the net. Predictably against their part-time opponents, it was Argyle who were doing most of the attacking and Anthony Barness had a curling effort headed away from the goal-line. In the 12th minute they doubled their lead when Teever, who plays his club football for TVMK Tallinn, forced home a close-range shot.

Betsele's Nigerian midfielder Pascal Chukwuma responded with a 20-yard drive which cleared the crossbar, but Argyle soon scored their third goal. In the 19th minute the ball was moved from left to right and Gudjonsson cracked home a shot which was the equal of Buzsaky's opener. Captain Paul Wotton curled a free-kick round Betsele's defensive wall which finished up in the side-netting as Argyle kept the ball in their opponents' half. Then Buzsaky let fly with another long-range strike which was also just off target, and Capaldi cracked a dipping effort over the bar. Betsele striker Morris Lewis, who might sound like a Welshman but is in fact from Sierra Leone forced a fine save out of goalkeeper Luke McCormick in the 36th minute with a fierce shot after a good ball in from the right flank by Rickard Eriksson. Argyle soon returned to the attack, and Taylor was denied by 'keeper Henrik Ringbro in a one-on-one confrontation. In the 40th minute, though, Taylor set up the Pilgrims' fourth goal by pulling the ball back from the byline for Buzsaky to stroke home his second of the night.

Argyle sent on Chadwick, Mat Doumbe and Paul Connolly for the second half, and it was Chadwick who collected the Pilgrims' fifth goal in the 56th minute. A punch from Betsele substitute keeper Gorgen Persson was returned into the danger area by Wotton and Chadwick out-muscled Persson to poke the ball home. Luke Summerfield became the fourth Pilgrims' substitute of the night when he replaced Gudjonsson, and he set up Argyle's sixth goal with a low cross from the right which was turned in by the predatory Chadwick 15 minutes from full-time. Betsele had their moments in attack, and McCormick made a couple of decent second-half saves. He fared better than Persson, who was sent off some eight minutes from the end for handling a back-pass. Substituted outfielder Fredrik Lindstrom took over in goal and was immediately beaten by a ferocious Wotton free-kick for the tourists' seventh goal. Capaldi, with a classy chip, and Summerfield, with a long-range lob from Lindstrom's punch, concluded the scoring in the last two minutes of a game which saw Mendes make an assured debut for Argyle, while Teever is worth another look. The Pilgrims will know, however, that far sterner tests lie in wait in the months ahead.

Nick Chadwick in action against Betsele

PRAISE INDEED FROM WEST

July 21

Taribo West believes that Plymouth Argyle's pre-season training programme is as good as any he has undergone in his long career. That is high praise indeed, considering that the Nigerian international defender has played for two of the superpowers of Italian and world football: AC Milan and Inter Milan. With his physique and his rolling running action, West is hard to miss on Argyle's training pitches, both here in Sweden and back at Harper's Park in Plymouth. Preparation for a new campaign is all about hard graft and is rarely much fun, but the big Nigerian does his work with a smile on his face. He has seen it all before. West is well familiar with the routine of pre-season tours, since Italian clubs go in for them in a big way. "Training camps there can last for four weeks, sometimes six weeks," he said in Holmsund last night. "But the work is mostly the same, it's just a different environment." With the Milan clubs, West usually spent his summers training in Switzerland or the Italian Alps. Now he is in Scandinavia with the Pilgrims. The content of the training is not identical. "In Italy," he said, "we did more ball work and a lot of work with weights." However, he is well satisfied by what he has experienced this summer. "Here with Plymouth, it has been very impressive," the Nigerian declared. "I've been impressed tactically and also by the physical work. It compares well to the Italian clubs. We run a lot, and that is good. If you want to be a good footballer, you have to have the physical strength to run a lot. Teams that run very well will win games. I think we are running very well here, and tactically the manager and the coaches are putting everything together very well. Everybody is happy."

There were certainly plenty of happy faces on Tuesday in Lapland, where the Pilgrims beat the part-timers of Betsele 9-0 in the first fixture of their tour. The small group of Argyle fans were cheerful - and so were about a dozen African spectators. They had come along to support Betsele players Morris Lewis, from Sierra Leone, and West's fellow Nigerian Pascal Chukwuma (who had apparently burst into tears of joy when he learned that he would be playing against his high-profile compatriot) - and also to see West in the flesh. The Pilgrims' most famous summer signing, who has appeared at two World Cups and won an Olympic gold medal, was mobbed by the African fans as soon as he emerged from the dressing rooms at Betsele. Given a rest during the second half, he spent a long time signing autographs and posing for photographs. Argyle boss Bobby Williamson said of West: "He's a class act. You can see he's played at a high level. He does the simple things well, and when there are questions asked of him he's always ready to stand up and be counted. I'm hoping he'll be a good acquisition for us." West is impressed with his new team-mates. "They are very, very nice lads," he said. "I am very, very happy to be among them. It is one of the few teams I have seen which has the spirit of a family among the players."

As well as doing his best to aid the Pilgrims' progress, West still has international ambitions. He wants to go with Nigeria to Germany next summer and take part in the World Cup finals for the third time. "After the 2002 World Cup," he said, "I retired from the team because there was a lot of mismanagement, exploitation and corruption. I needed a break, but then I had a few phone calls from the trainers and I changed my mind." West wore the green shirt of Nigeria once more in the qualifiers for the 2004 African Nations' Cup, but a knee injury put him out of action again and he missed the finals. Now, if he does the business for Argyle, it seems that the 31-year-old could be invited back again to represent his country. “I still believe I have a lot to offer the national team," he said. The Nigerians, who are by no means certain of a place in Germany, have two World Cup qualifiers left to play, away to Algeria on September 4 and at home to Zimbabwe on October 7. It would have been good to hear more of West's words of wisdom last night, but he was called away to partner his new team-mate Nuno Mendes in a table-tennis match. "I'm no good at table-tennis," he complained. He is, however, still good at football, the game he loves, and he seems destined to become a Home Park favourite.

IN-DEMAND DJORDJIC IS POISED FOR ARGYLE START

Bojan Djordjic is poised to make his long-awaited first appearance for Plymouth Argyle this evening, when the Pilgrims tackle Swedish third-tier side Umea in the second game of their pre-season tour. The former Manchester United and Sweden Under-21 winger has been one of the most sought-after personalities on this trip, especially for the local media, even though he has not yet featured in a match of any sort for the Pilgrims. An ankle injury sustained in a collision with team-mate Akos Buzsaky last week kept Djordjic out of last Saturday's 1-1 draw at Torquay United and Tuesday's 9-0 win at Betsele. Tonight, though, the Belgrade-born attacker is set to play on the right flank for Argyle against Umea. "We're hoping he'll be fit," the Pilgrims' manager Bobby Williamson said last night. "He's had a couple of stiff training sessions and it's looking good. He should feature. "We need them all playing at this time of the year," the Scot added. "If you miss out in pre-season it's very difficult to play catch up. But Bojan has not been out for very long, so hopefully he'll be involved tomorrow night. He needs some games."

Tonight's starting XI should feature players who, like Djordjic, did not begin Tuesday's comfortable win against Betsele. Mickey Evans is set to lead the attack alongside Nick Chadwick, who scored twice as a half-time substitute two days ago. Keith Lasley and David Norris are likely to be the central midfielders, with Ryan Dickson used on the left wing. Mat Doumbe and Hasney Aljofree are expected to team up in central defence. "That's the idea," Williamson said. "The guys who didn't start the other night will feature tomorrow, and we'll look at the last game on Saturday differently once we get tomorrow's game out of the way." The main benefit of Tuesday's friendly was the fitness conditioning for those who took part, rather than the result. Keeping clean sheets and scoring lots of goals was not the prerogative, although it was great to do that," the Argyle manager added. "It was all about fitness. That's all we want out of these games, we're not looking to do anything else. I don't want to judge the boys too early. It's a gradual process."

Tonight's adversaries should be the strongest side Argyle face on this tour. With the exception of Morris Lewis, a livewire striker from Sierra Leone, Tuesday's opponents, Betsele, were no better than an average South Western League team. Umea are one level higher in the Swedish league system - they lie in third place in one of the country's six regionalised third-tier divisions. Umea and the team who are based at Argyle's training ground, IFK Holmsund, launched the Plymouth Argyle Cup on Tuesday, when Holmsund beat their neighbours 3-0. However, Umea fielded their youth team, as they were resting their senior players for tonight's encounter. The tournament will be concluded on Saturday, when Holmsund entertain the Pilgrims. Trialist striker Ingemar Teever is expected to be on the substitutes' bench for the Pilgrims tonight. The 22-year-old Estonian international striker will head for home tomorrow morning because he is needed by his club side, TVMK Tallinn, on Saturday. Although he scored a goal against Betsele, his overall performance suggested that he might find it difficult to raise his game to Coca-Cola Championship level.

Bojan Djordjic in action against Umea

BOSTROM IS LAPP OF HONOUR FOR HARDY TRAVELLING FANS

This pre-season tour to Sweden is a real test of endurance and endeavour not just for Plymouth Argyle's players, but also for the Pilgrims' supporters. Unlike the tours that the Devon club have undertaken in the previous four years - two to Scotland and then two to Austria - Argyle have not invited any fans to accompany the team as VIP paying guests. Even so, as happened on every past tour, some supporters have found their way to northern Scandinavia under their own steam.

There are not many, but they are here. Tuesday's opening game of the tour, the 9-0 win at Betsele, was watched by maybe 15 Argyle supporters. They were the elite few. Not even Lewis Ridge was there. Ridge is a fervent fan from Farnborough in Hampshire who made it to Argyle's first tour to Sweden in 1990, and also travelled all the way to West Africa to watch the Pilgrims take on the Gambian national team in 1997. Ridge is due, however, to attend the final two games of this trip. Most of the Argyle fans who are already here are staying in Umea, a small city some ten miles away from the Pilgrims' base camp in the port town of Holmsund. Tuesday's trek to Betsele, a remote up-country village in Lapland, was not an easy adventure, for it was out of reach from Umea by public transport.

Some fans hired cars, others made use of the services of Berndt Bostrom, the tour organiser from Holmsund who is looking after the needs of the Pilgrims' party. They travelled to Betsele by minibus, and they made a day of it. Richard and Carol, Argyle fans from Sussex, went along for the ride. "Berndt took us out into the woods, in the middle of nowhere," Richard - better known to the 'Green Army' as 'Loud' - said: "We reached some Lapland huts by a lake, and a local lad turned up and he cooked us reindeer steaks. They were superb beyond belief. We had a great afternoon, and here we are to cheer on the team." Richard and Carol had flown to Stockholm on Sunday, watched one of the city's top-flight teams Hammarby (who play in green and white and found some new fans that evening) beat Landskrona 4-0 in the evening, and then travelled on to Umea on Monday. For the rest of the week, with Bostrom as their host, they have sightseeing trips and activities such as raft rides on a local river to look forward to.

Richard (Loud) and Carol

Pete, an Argyle season-ticket holder from Portsmouth, was another one of the intrepid fans who reached Betsele. Unlike Richard and Carol, both veterans of Austria, this is his first overseas tour. He is also being looked after by the ubiquitous Bostrom. "I'm thoroughly enjoying it," he said before Tuesday's match. "It's been very well organised and I'm looking forward to a decent game tonight." Nine goals later, Pete and the other adventurers of the 'Green Army' made their way back to Umea, safe in the knowledge that they are the only Argyle fans ever to watch the Pilgrims play in Lapland

FOXES HUNT ARGYLE ACE

July 22

Plymouth Argyle full-back Peter Gilbert is being pursued by the Pilgrims' Coca-Cola Championship rivals Leicester City. The Foxes are keen to recruit the Welsh Under-21 international, and are understood to have made three bids for Gilbert so far. All have been rejected by the Home Park outfit. The word from the Walkers Stadium last night was that Leicester are unwilling to come up with a higher offer, but whether or not that is the final state of affairs remains to be seen. Argyle will have to pass on a hefty slice of any fee they receive for Gilbert to his former club, Birmingham City - and the 21-year-old left-back is believed to be keen to make a move to the East Midlands.

Gilbert played for the Pilgrims in their 9-0 Swedish tour victory at Betsele on Tuesday, but sat out last night's 0-0 draw against Umea because of a foot injury. He has taken little part in training in Sweden in the past two days, but even if he had been fully fit he would not have started the match yesterday, when it was Rufus Brevett's turn to play. Even though Brevett, a defender with a wealth of Premiership experience, has been signed from West Ham this summer, the Pilgrims have insisted that they do not wish to part with Gilbert. Club director Damon Lenszner, who is with the team in Austria, said: "The club very rarely comments on speculation. It is unsettling for the team and the player to hear speculation like that. There was an offer which was rejected, he is an Argyle player and we want him to remain an Argyle player, he is a promising Under-21 international and part of the set up here. He has 12 months left on his contract." Lenszner continued: "An offer has been received and rejected. He is here in Sweden and will remain in Sweden and will complete the tour with us, so how they can talk about him playing for them on Sunday is beyond me."

Despite the comments of Lenszner, it appears the Foxes will continue their pursuit of the Wearside-born defender, who has made 78 league apperances for the Pilgrims and was a key figure in the championship-winning squad of 2003/04. Leicester boss Craig Levein yesterday stated: "We have been looking for a new left-back for some time now, especially since Jordan Stewart left, and we are still actively seeking a striker as well." After last night's stalemate in Umea, Williamson said: "Peter Gilbert is a Plymouth player, and hopefully he'll still be a Plymouth player when the season starts. He has a year left on his contract, and we'll see how things develop."

Despite not having practised the system in training here in Sweden, Argyle used three centre-backs and two wing-backs in a 3-5-2 formation against Umea, who were capable opponents. The Pilgrims have never previously adopted that shape under Williamson, and they did not look fully convincing last night. "We need to do a bit of work on it, I'm afraid," the Scot admitted. "I was pleased with the effort we put in, though. It was a game we could have won, I felt we made the better chances." It was still a more useful exercise for Argyle than Tuesday's one-sided rout of hapless Betsele. "We got more out of this than we did the previous game," he added. "Umea were not a bad team, they made a lot of good movement and were well organised. Their season has started, and they're a bit ahead of us when it comes to fitness, which we're still chasing." Argyle's summer recruit Bojan Djordjic made his first appearance for the Pilgrims, after recovering from a knock to a knee. "I was pleased with him," Williamson said. "He looks as if he can trouble teams in the last third of the pitch."

Peter Gilbert, during one of his final Argyle training sessions

SCOTT PLAYS THE ROLE OF PILGRIMS TASKMASTER

Manager Bobby Williamson is in overall charge of Plymouth Argyle's pre-season preparations, but the day-to-day responsibility of running training sessions here in Sweden lies with Paul Maxwell and Jocky Scott. Maxwell, the Pilgrims' physiotherapist and fitness trainer, takes care of the physical warm-up and wind-down work at the start and end of each session. Jogging and a variety of stretching exercises make up most of the preparatory stuff, designed to warm up the players' muscles and keep them supple. Club doctor Paul Giles is always on hand to attend to players, if needed, while goalkeeping coach Geoff Crudgington looks after the requirements of Romain Larrieu and Luke McCormick. The presence of Giles and Crudgington, plus kit man Ian Pearce, in Sweden is a sign of Argyle's attention to detail on this tour. The Pilgrims did not take any of these three staff members on their tours to Austria in the past two years.

Some aspects of the training are different to what was witnessed in Austria last year. "The structure of the warm-ups and the fitness work is the same," Maxwell explained yesterday, "but we have changed the routines. We don't want to allow boredom to set in, we try and avoid the work becoming monotonous." The principles behind the training have not changed, however. A priority is to try to avoid injuries during the season. "Since we started this stuff four or five seasons ago, we've cut down massively on injuries," added Maxwell, a former Argyle apprentice. "Some you can't prevent, but we work very hard to try to prevent muscular injuries. In the old days, when I was a young player, your warm-ups were little more than an opportunity to have a chat with a team-mate and talk about what went on the night before. It's very different now."

The fitness training will have an altered emphasis as the start of the Coca-Cola Championship season on August 6 draws even closer. "We haven't done any of the short work yet," Maxwell said. "That entails work that is more specific to areas of the game - where players change direction, twist and turn, and sprint work comes down to between five and 20 yards. We'll bring that in through next week, and it will continue throughout the season, although we will reach a point when we concentrate on maintaining, rather than developing, fitness."

On the training field, Scott usually takes over when the emphasis switches to tactical work. Williamson does supervise some sessions, but mostly he takes a watching brief and intervenes occasionally. Scott, a veteran Scottish coach who has managed a variety of clubs north and south of the border, comes across as an old-school operator who delivers strict discipline accompanied by acerbic wit. His tactical training sessions, in which the shape the management wants the team to adopt is explained in depth, are complex but intriguing to watch.

If the Pilgrims' players and coaches here in Sweden were a military force rather than a football team, then Scott would be the sergeant major. He barks his commands in a manner which makes it clear that he expects to be obeyed, although whether every member of Argyle's multi-national squad can understand his accent is perhaps open to doubt. Away from the pitch, Scott is also very much the disciplinarian. He issues, or threatens to issue, fines for a variety of offences such as being late for training or meals and, in the case of two players who shall remain nameless, using the lift at the team hotel to travel down one floor! Scott does not have to get tough too often, though. These Argyle players are a very professional bunch. They know what needs to be done in this environment. They are here in Sweden to work, not to take a holiday, and hopefully the results will be evident when the Championship campaign kicks off next month.

TOUGHER TEST FOR PILGRIMS

After the deluge, the drought. While it rained goals at Betsele on Tuesday, when Plymouth Argyle romped to a 9-0 win in the opening game of their tour to Sweden, last night the Pilgrims had to settle for a goalless draw against Umea. It was an evening when the Argyle starting line-up had made interesting reading. Manager Bobby Williamson had dropped hints in recent weeks that he was considering deploying a formation with three centre-backs at times this season, and last night he tried out the system in a match for the first time in his tenure in charge of the Pilgrims.

The Scot had said on Wednesday that he was not planning to ask any of the players who had started Tuesday's hollow triumph at Betsele to begin last night's encounter. In the event, though, new recruit Nuno Mendes was on the pitch from the first whistle. The big Portuguese centre-back lined up on the right of the back three alongside Taribo West (who had likewise played at Betsele) and Hasney Aljofree, with Paul Connolly and Rufus Brevett given wing-back roles. There was also a second start in three days for trialist striker Ingemar Teever. The Estonian international, who had scored in the thrashing of Betsele, was trying to impress the Pilgrims' management before he leaves Sweden this morning to rejoin his club, TVMK Tallinn. Bojan Djordjic, a former Swedish Under-21 international, made his first appearance for Argyle, appropriately in his adopted homeland.

Last night's opponents, Umea, operate one level higher than Betsele in the Swedish league system. They play in one of six regionalised third-tier divisions, but as recently as 1996 they were in the country's top flight. They also wear white shirts, which caused a delay in the kick-off because the Pilgrims had turned up with their white second-choice kit. Umea, whose English-born coach Steve Galloway once played up front for Wimbledon and Crystal Palace, switched to dark blue shirts, and the match kicked off some 20 minutes late. Argyle were soon into their stride, and a neat lay-off from Teever gave David Norris the chance to fire in a fierce shot which home goalkeeper Petter Augustsson did well to tip over the crossbar in the fourth minute. Eleven minutes later, the Estonian slipped a short pass to Mickey Evans, whose rising drive was too high. Umea were also having their share of attacks, however, and they nearly scored when the tourists were temporarily down to ten men. While Aljofree was off the pitch for treatment on a blow to the jaw, home striker Magnus Fagerqvist had a close-range shot well saved by Romain Larrieu.

Taribo West in action against Umea

Although Umea are a part-time outfit, the game was much less of a one-sided contest than Tuesday's battering of Betsele had been. The hosts were having plenty of possession, and Argyle conceded several free-kicks in quick succession in the later stages of the first half. Referee Lars Olsson was perhaps too quick to blow his whistle and wield his cards, and booked two home players plus West and Keith Lasley before half-time for fouls. Djordjic looked comfortable on the ball, although he would have liked to have seen more of it, while perhaps the highlight of the first half was a superb long pass out of defence by Mendes which set Connolly free on the right. Nick Chadwick replaced Teever, who had faded in the first half, after the interval. Williamson would not comment after the game on the trialist's prospects, if any, with Argyle.

Umea launched the second period's first meaningful attack, and Larrieu had to be alert to make a near-post save from Kristoffer Bjuhr. At the other end, Augustsson did well to keep out a Norris shot. The home 'keeper made an even better save in the 64th minute to claw away a firm close-range header by Evans, from a good left-wing cross by Djordjic as the game's opening goal remained elusive. Larrieu ensured that was still the case 14 minutes from the end when he made a fine stop down at the feet of Daniel Fajers, whose shooting chance had been created by a surging run from Bjuhr. Norris belted a close-range shot too high with Argyle's last chance, as the game ended goal-less. For the Home Park hierarchy, though, the scoreline will have been far less relevant than the experimentation with the 3-5-2 system. The verdict is that, while Connolly looks well suited to playing as a wing-back on the right side, on the opposite flank Brevett seems happier playing as a traditional left-back. Of the three centre-backs, Mendes again stood out and could well become a regular in the Pilgrims' rearguard.

Keith Lasley and Taribo West in action against Umea

LENSZNER REVELLING IN HIS MOVE TO THE BOARDROOM

July 23

While it would be an exaggeration to describe Damon Lenszner's first pre-season tour as a Plymouth Argyle director as a baptism of fire, it has certainly been an eventful week in Sweden for the 45-year-old. Along with Tony Wrathall, Lenszner joined the Pilgrims' board of directors in February, following the departure of Peter Jones and Michael Foot. The managing director of Stonehouse-based recruitment company Pacific Staff, Lenszner has been the only board member travelling with the club on this trip. Within the space of three days, Lenszner has had to supervise the completion of an international transfer and then present the Pilgrims' response to an apparent attempt by one of their Coca-Cola Championship rivals to poach one of their most promising players.

On Tuesday, Lenszner ensured that Argyle did what was required to secure the signature of accomplished Portuguese defender Nuno Mendes. Then, on Thursday, the preparations for the Pilgrims' second game of this tour, against Umea, were interrupted when news broke that Leicester City had had three bids for Plymouth Argyle left-back Peter Gilbert rejected. Lenszner vehemently stated Argyle's intent to hang on to their Welsh Under-21 international. "What has happened this week has made it apparent why the club always wants to have somebody from the board on a tour," Lenszner said. "It's difficult enough for the manager and his coaches here to do their jobs. We're a couple of weeks away from the start of the season now, and we want the manager to concentrate on the team and work with his staff to get them right for the kick-off. The manager doesn't need any off-the-field distractions, and it's the responsibility of what we call the director in charge to handle anything that might come up. As it happens, there have been a couple of things that happened within a short space of time, but it looks like we've managed to deal with what we've needed to deal with."

This is Argyle's fifth consecutive pre-season tour, and the club's ascent through the divisions of the Football League during the past five years should make everyone appreciate the value of such expeditions. Yet there are still some critics who wonder whether overseas trips represent money well spent. "The old saying 'a change is as good as a rest' still holds true," Lenszner said. "These are different surroundings, but what is more important is the bonding that takes place. The players are living with each other round the clock for a week, and the team becomes a team instead of a group of individuals. That's the advantage of going away on tour. The players all get to know one another as a person, and if that helps just a fraction in knowing what they're going to be thinking on the field then this trip has done its job."

No foreign journey is perfect, but the Pilgrims will be trying to do the best job they can when the time comes to prepare for next summer's tour by making effective use of their staff. Argyle will soon confirm the appointment of Gil Prescott, the former Macclesfield Town manager and Stockport County chief scout, as their chief scout - a position which has not been filled in recent seasons. "The training facilities here are fine," Lenszner added, "but the pitch we played at on Tuesday and the level of opposition we faced was not perfect. I don't think you can gain very much from a 9-0 victory. So, with having Gil on board, part of his job come the new year will be to go out and have a look around and make recommendations about where the next tour should be."

Lenszner has thoroughly enjoyed his first few months on the inside of the Home Park boardroom. "It's been everything I imagined plus a lot more," he said. "I've come from sitting in the stands home and away as a fan to learning what is involved in running a football club on and off the field. It is the off-the-field activities which take up so much of our time, which is why the appointment of Michael Dunford as chief executive has been so important for us. He is a true football professional who knows the game inside out, and he has helped us to catch up off the field with what has happened on the field over the last few seasons."

Rather than just follow the Pilgrims' progress as a supporter, Lenszner now has to approach football from a businessman's perspective. "As a fan, I've always had an appreciation of the financial aspects of the game. The board, under the current chairman has always made it clear that the objective is to push Plymouth Argyle forwards, and it's difficult to do that if you're running up huge debts. We're not going to put ourselves into debt to buy a £500,000 striker, or whatever. It's a balancing act, but I think most fans are aware of who we are and where we want to go. Hopefully, within the next three or four seasons, when we're pushing for a Premiership place, we'll be in a different financial position. We have the development coming at the ground, which we're almost ready to talk about. We have lacked off-the-field income, and we'll be looking to use Home Park all week when Phase Two is finished. The income from that will be ploughed straight back into the team."

Asked to disclose his ambitions for this season, Lenszner concluded: "We have to look for a mid-table place. We have a very important couple of years in the development of the club coming up, and we have to make sure we remain where we are but we also have to do better than we did last year. More points and a higher finishing place is the target."

NUNO LOOKS GOOD

Plymouth Argyle manager Bobby Williamson is already impressed by the talent of his latest recruit Nuno Mendes - but he also hopes that there is more to come from the cool and commanding Portuguese central defender. The 27-year-old, who completed his transfer from Portuguese second division club Santa Clara here at the Pilgrims' training camp in Sweden on Tuesday, is the only player to participate in every minute of Argyle's two games on tour so far.

In both Tuesday's 9-0 rout of Betsele and Thursday's more useful 0-0 draw against Umea, Mendes has looked composed and classy. He is comfortable on the ball and can mix it when the going gets tough - yet Williamson knows that sterner tests lie in wait for the former Strasbourg and Leiria player. "Nuno has done OK," the Argyle boss said. "We're hoping he'll be a good acquisition for us. There are parts of his game that could be worked on, but that was only to be expected. Given time, he'll prove his worth."

After his exertions so far this week, Mendes may not start today's final fixture of the tour - when Argyle have a good chance of winning their first silverware of the season. The Pilgrims tackle their host club this week, IFK Holmsund, this afternoon and will lift a trophy named in their honour if they achieve a victory. Holmsund launched the Plymouth Argyle Cup on Tuesday with a 3-0 win over Umea's youth team, and then the Pilgrims drew with Umea's senior side on Thursday. Holmsund play at a lower level in the Swedish league system than Umea, so should prove to be less obdurate opponents.

Williamson has not yet made his team selection for today's match. "One or two of the lads are feeling the effects of the games and the training," he said after the squad's morning training session yesterday. "We've been doing double sessions most days, but we'll give them a rest this afternoon. Then we'll wait and see who is available for tomorrow's game. We're travelling back on Sunday, which is a toll on its own, and we've got another game on Tuesday. Today will be the first afternoon off they've had, and hopefully they'll take advantage of it and rest."

With Argyle coming towards the end of their week in Sweden, Williamson is satisfied by the work the players have done on the training ground. "They're looking good," he said. "I don't think we have any complaints there, but it all depends how the season starts. If we get off to a good start, then this all went well. If we don't, then people will start asking: 'Was the training good enough? Were the games hard enough?' You need to use hindsight more than foresight, but we're hoping that everything has gone well and that we've got the players as fit as we can get them," the Scot added. "It's up to the players now to be as professional as they can be, and look after themselves when they're not training. I think the players have enjoyed the work we've done here, but it is a training camp and not a holiday camp. It's been hard work, but they've buckled down."

EXHAUSTED PILGRIMS ARE READY TO RETURN

It's been a long, hard week here in Sweden for Plymouth Argyle's players. The training has been tough and intensive, while the Pilgrims have also had to cope with extreme heat at the start of their tour - and the ever-painful presence of the local mosquitoes. While Tuesday's opponents, Betsele, were nowhere near Argyle's standard and succumbed meekly to a 9-0 defeat, the Pilgrims took on a much stronger team on Thursday. A 0-0 draw against Umea was a fair result, after a keenly contested encounter. The players who were used for the full 90 minutes in Thursday's match did only light training yesterday. They walked from the Pilgrims' practice pitch at Kamratvallen (the home ground of IFK Holmsund, their opponents in the final tour fixture today) to Ljumviken bathing area and went into the Gulf of Bothnia, to allow the sea water to soothe their muscles.

Back at Kamratvallen, the players who had not played the full game against Umea were given a hard morning's work. Crossing and finishing was the name of the game, with little time for recuperation between drills. Then it was back to the Hotel Vasterbacken - a conference centre in a secluded wooded location at which the Pilgrims are the only guests - for lunch. The players were given the afternoon off (for the first time this week) and many took the opportunity of a trip into the city of Umea, some ten miles up the road from Holmsund.

Last night the tour party were treated to a meal at a Mexican restuarant in Umea, while after this evening's game there will a barbecue for the players in Holmsund. It will be their second barbecue of the week - they were driven deep into a Lapland forest for an outdoor meal of grilled meat following Tuesday's match at Betsele. Rumours that the players were offered bear steaks or reindeer ribs have been unconfirmed!

Tomorrow threatens to be a very tiring day, with the Argyle party facing a 13-hour trip back to Plymouth. There will be little time for rest, though, as the squad will be back in training on Monday in preparation for Tuesday's daunting friendly against the powerful Belgian side, Club Bruges. For professional footballers, this is very definitely not holiday time

TAYLOR AT THE DOUBLE AS ARGYLE FINISH ON A HIGH

July 25

Plymouth Argyle completed their tour of Sweden with an emphatic but ultimately somewhat meaningless victory over outclassed opponents on Saturday. As had been the case in last Tuesday's 9-0 battering of Betsele, the Pilgrims found themselves up against a side who had more in common with teams in the Devon League than the Coca-Cola Championship.

IFK Holmsund, an amateur outfit who play in one of Sweden's 12 regionalised fourth-tier divisions, might have suffered a defeat as heavy as the one inflicted upon Betsele. They escaped that fate because of some wasteful finishing by Argyle and the English team's lethargy at the end of an at times tiresome tour. The only real benefit the Pilgrims gained from Saturday's game, and the similarly uneven contest last Tuesday, was the boost it gave to their quest for match fitness. Summer recruit Bojan Djordjic completed his second 90 minutes in an Argyle shirt and was always a creative presence in midfield, while Bjarni Gudjonsson was lively throughout on the right wing.

After the experimentation with three centre-backs and two wing-backs in last Thursday's 0-0 draw with Umea - the only decent opposition Argyle faced on this trip - the Pilgrims reverted to a more familiar 4-4-2 formation. Taribo West and Nuno Mendes were rested, which gave Mat Doumbe and Hasney Aljofree the chance to play together in central defence. The experienced pair of Anthony Barness and Rufus Brevett were given the full-back roles, while Djordjic played alongside captain Paul Wotton in central midfield. Two players were ruled out of contention: Akos Buzsaky by a groin strain and Peter Gilbert by a bruised foot.

It took the Pilgrims only six minutes to claim the lead. A header by Wotton from a Djordjic corner was parried by home goalkeeper Marcus Gavelin. The ball found its way back out to Djordjic on the right flank, and the former Swedish Under-21 international's cross was headed in at the far post by Nick Chadwick, with the aid of a deflection off a defender. Two minutes later, Argyle doubled their advantage. Barness put Gudjonsson free on the right, and the Icelandic international's centre was bundled in from close range by Scott Taylor. A rout looked inevitable, but it took a while for the Pilgrims to turn their superiority into further goals. Chadwick, clean through after a neat pass from Gudjonsson, pulled a shot wide of the net. Doumbe was on target with a header from a Gudjonsson cross, but Gavelin pushed the ball on to a post and clutched the rebound.

A wrist injury meant that Gavelin made way for Mladen Galambos in the 23rd minute, and the substitute 'keeper was soon required to make a sprawling save to deny Gudjonsson, who had been set up by a good touch from Taylor. Holmsund defender Johan Bjurback almost found the net with a long-range back-pass, before Galambos was beaten in the 34th minute. Barness delivered a low cross into the danger area and, after Chadwick had distracted the home team's defence with a near-post challenge, Tony Capaldi arrived at the far post to side-foot the ball home for Argyle's third goal. Chadwick sent a volley too high from a Brevett cross, and then the former Everton striker saw a shot saved by Galambos. Taylor had set up the chance, with a good lay-off from a Barness centre.

Unexpectedly, though, the next goal arrived at the other end. After Aljofree had been penalised for a push and Wotton had pointlessly been booked for protesting at the decision, Johan Nordell floated a free-kick on to the forehead of Christoffer Johansson. The Holmsund striker's firm header beat the otherwise under-employed Luke McCormick. The goal for the Swedes arrived in first-half injury time, and Romain Larrieu replaced McCormick after the interval. Keith Lasley, David Norris and Mickey Evans were also sent into the fray, and Argyle re-established their superiority with two goals in the first seven minutes of the second half.

Brevett's low cross was turned in by Taylor in the 49th minute, and three minutes later Barness rode two attempted tackles on a surge into the penalty area before forcing home Argyle's fifth goal. That concluded the scoring for the evening, although Johansson did turn a centre from Nordell into the Argyle net. An offside flag halted the Holmsund celebrations, however. At the other end, Taylor was thwarted by Galambos in a one-on-one contest with the home team's 'keeper, after a well-weighted through pass from Gudjonsson. Lasley fired wide on the break, and then Norris wriggled through the Holmsund defence but saw his shot deflected wide.

With 15 minutes left, the Pilgrims sent on Ryan Dickson for his first taste of match action of the tour. The Cornish teenager took over from Brevett at left-back. Luke Summerfield replaced Taylor at the same time as Argyle switched to a 4-3-3 formation for the closing stages, with Djordjic and Gudjonsson as the wide attackers either side of target man Evans. It was one-way traffic as Holmsund tired and Argyle created but missed five decent chances in the last 13 minutes. Evans set up Gudjonsson for a shot which Galambos saved well, and then the Icelander knocked in a fine cross which Evans headed straight at the 'keeper. Aljofree stepped up from the back to hammer a drive wide, Lasley fired over the top after a one-two with Djordjic, and Gudjonsson did likewise when he found himself in the clear. But it did not matter. There are no prizes to be won for margins of victory in games such as Saturday's.

The Pilgrims' success over Holmsund plus their draw with Umea meant that they won the three-team tournament named in their honour, the Plymouth Argyle Cup, but there was no trophy presentation for the crowd of about 300 (including at least 15 Argyle fans) to watch. The Devon team did not mind. They were more interested in catching the plane home.

Action from Holmsund

HARD TO JUDGE WORTH OF TOUR UNTIL SEASON STARTS

Plymouth Argyle may have been undefeated in their three matches on their pre-season tour to Sweden, which came to a conclusion yesterday, but that only tells part of the story of their trek to northern Scandinavia. Match practice is rarely, if ever, the most important part of such summer expeditions. The training sessions undertaken and the spirit of camaraderie that is developed within the squad, are usually deemed to possess greater importance than the results of friendlies against often unchallenging opposition. The ultimate value of Argyle's tour this year, their fifth in succession after an interval of ten years without such a trip, cannot be assessed now, or even on the evening of August 6, after the Pilgrims have launched their Championship campaign with a visit to Reading that day.

The worth of the Devon team's pre-season preparations cannot be properly judged until at least a dozen Football League games have been played, and the campaign has started to take some sort of shape. Then, and not before then, will we know how ready manager Bobby Williamson's new-look Argyle team were for the challenges that still lie ahead now. It is possible that the Pilgrims will start the season with a completely new back four. Centre-backs Taribo West and Nuno Mendes have already impressed, although measured verdicts on the wisdom of their acquisition will have to wait until they have faced strikers like Ade Akinbiyi, Dean Ashton and Grzegorz Rasiak, rather than the more humble opponents they have encountered in Sweden. Likewise, experienced new full- backs Anthony Barness and Rufus Brevett clearly possess plenty of quality. Their presence in the squad should prove very beneficial, especially when the Pilgrims are on the rack away from home - a situation they did not always handle well last term.

Right-back Paul Connolly has shown he is ready to raise his game to compete for a first-team place with Barness. He did a good job as a wing-back against Umea last Thursday, when the Pilgrims experimented with a 3-5-2 formation. It would be a surprise, though, if left-back Peter Gilbert was still an Argyle player when the League starts. Having rejected three bids from Leicester City the Pilgrims were told by the Foxes on Thursday evening that no higher offer would be made. If that was an attempt to bully Plymouth into accepting what was on the table, it did not work, and negotiations had resumed by the start of the weekend. A deal to take Gilbert to the Walkers Stadium might be concluded this week. If the former Birmingham City (who will claim 30 per cent of whatever fee Argyle receive for Gilbert) defender leaves Home Park, Ryan Dickson and maybe Tony Capaldi will challenge Brevett for the left-back shirt. The only area of the squad where there is a lack of competition remains the strikeforce.

Scott Taylor and Nick Chadwick scored goals on tour, while Mickey Evans looks fit and hungry and capable of playing the target-man role for another season at least, but the Pilgrims really could do with a striker who can combine pace with a poacher's instinct. Ingemar Teever did not fit the bill in that respect. The Estonian international forward, who played in Argyle's first two tour games, looked like a neat and tidy player, but did not stand out. The Pilgrims have not admitted that their interest in him is at an end, but it would be a surprise if he was invited to Home Park for a further look. The 'Green Army' will be seeing plenty of Bojan Djordjic though. A knee injury has interrupted the former Manchester United player's pre-season preparations, but he was given 90 minutes in both the second and third games of the tour and, when fully fit, he should be a key player for the Pilgrims. Djordjic, another of Argyle's summer signings, is very comfortable on the ball and is quick to see a pass and to find space for a cross. He is versatile, too, and can operate in central midfield as well as on both flanks.

Other aspects of this tour were less positive than the displays of the Pilgrims' new signings. Argyle are, it has to be admitted, in no hurry to return to Holmsund. While their hosts at the small port town's Vasterbacken Hotel, and at the three football clubs they visited, were always very welcoming and helpful, it cannot be denied that the venue had its limitations. The destination was always meant to be more of a labour camp than a holiday camp, but Holmsund did not compare well to Obertraun, the Austrian sports centre the Pilgrims went to in 2003 and 2004.

The pitches Argyle played and trained on were not much better than the ones in Austria, as they had been expecting. Two of the teams they played were too poor to provide any sort of a test. Also, Obertraun had tennis courts, a swimming pool, a gymnasium, a beach volleyball court, mountain bikes to use, and a cafe on site. Their hotel in Holmsund had none of those benefits. When they were not training or playing, the Argyle players were bored. The veterans of all five tours were not impressed, but it could be said that squad bonding, which was a key purpose of this trip, might in fact have been strengthened by those perceived problems. With nobody apart from the Plymouth party staying at their hotel and not much in the way of outside distractions, the team had little else to do but spend time together and get to know one another.

Lessons are learned from every situation in football, though, and the Home Park hierarchy knows that more effort needs to be put into assessing and selecting pre-season tour venues. That is one outcome of this summer's trip that will help the club in the future, and hopefully it will not be the only benefit of the past week in Sweden.

Action from Umea

PILGRIMS UP THE ANTE

Plymouth Argyle manager Bobby Williamson is hoping to make full use of the tough challenges that lie in wait this week, after the Pilgrims concluded their tour to Sweden with a one-sided and undemanding 5-1 victory over IFK Holmsund on Saturday. Two of the Pilgrims' three matches on their expedition to Scandinavia were against opponents of very limited calibre. That will not be the case this week, when Argyle will conclude their pre-season preparations with Home Park friendlies against Belgian champions Club Bruges tomorrow and Serbian UEFA Cup entrants OFK Belgrade on Saturday. Both teams, and in particular Bruges, should pose plenty of problems for the Pilgrims, who commence their Coca-Cola Championship campaign at Reading on Saturday week. Holmsund, however, offered little in the way of meaningful opposition. "The better the team we're up against, the better we play," Argyle manager Bobby Williamson admitted on Saturday evening. "In games like this, unfortunately we drop our standards. We take too many touches of the ball, and the match wasn't productive enough for my liking. But hopefully we got something out of it, and we'll look forward to Tuesday now. You can't draw comparisons between teams like this and Bruges, that's for sure. But we have to be prepared for Tuesday's game. Bruges will keep the ball and they'll get our guys running around. They'll be a good test for us."

Despite the low-key nature of Saturday's contest, some Argyle players were able to raise their game. Icelandic international Bjarni Gudjonsson, operating in a wide-right role, was productive and has had an impressive pre-season campaign so far. Williamson knows, however, that sterner examinations lie in wait. "Bjarni has done OK," he agreed, "but it's really all about fitness levels at this stage of the summer. I'm not really too fussed about individual performances." Scott Taylor scored twice against Holmsund, while fellow front man Nick Chadwick, Tony Capaldi and Anthony Barness collected the other goals. "It's good to see strikers scoring goals," the Argyle manager added. "That's the most important thing, to get them into the habit of putting the ball in the back of the net. If we can do that here, then hopefully we can take it on to the next step."

After a journey of over 12 hours from northern Sweden to Devon yesterday, the Argyle squad will train this afternoon in Plymouth before facing Bruges tomorrow. The tour would have been more productive if all three sides the Pilgrims took on had been of the standard of Umea, who held Argyle to a 0-0 draw on Thursday. "That would have been handier," Williamson admitted. "The harder the game the better, but you've just got to deal with what you're up against, and we dealt with it. Now we have to look to Tuesday and hope we get maximum benefit out of that game."