Edwards motivated by the ebullience of young Pilgrims

JOE Edwards has described how his hunger to play football has ‘ramped up again’ after missing a lot of last season for Plymouth Argyle due to a long-term hamstring injury.

- By CHRIS ERRINGTON

The club captain, who is closing in on 250 appearances for the Pilgrims, will celebrate his 35th birthday at the end of October but has no plans to hang up his boots and wants to continue his career for as long as he can.

Edwards provides leadership, on and off the pitch, for what is a largely young and inexperienced Argyle squad, and that is an attribute which is valued highly by head coach Tom Cleverley.

For his part, Edwards believes the Pilgrims are lucky to have Cleverley - who is less than 16 months older than him - as their head coach and has praised the impact he has already made at Home Park after being appointed in June.

Edwards missed a few matches last month due to another hamstring issue, which he admitted had been frustrating at the start of the season and when there were so many games to be played in a short space of time, but he is now ‘fit and raring to go!

He said: “My role (as club captain) stays the same no matter what really. Obviously when I’m playing I can help influence more on the pitch, but when I’m injured or not picked, I think I will still hopefully have the same sort of influence off the pitch.

“I will still travel to as many games as I can when I’m injured as long as it’s not making my injury worse. I like to keep myself busy and useful. Any way I can help I will always do what I can do.

“It’s a really positive thing to have. The new management staff have come in and been fantastic. I have got a really good relationship with them already.

“I think it’s good for them to have maybe someone like myself to speak to, but they are really good at communicating with all the lads. There is a good relationship between everyone and if there's anything that needs to be said, or discussed, then obviously it’s easier to come to one person than a group, which I guess is my role as well”