Paul Cook searches for his first Ipswich win as the Pilgrims set sail for Portman Road

Although he’s only been in charge since the beginning of March, there’s no doubting that Paul Cook will be desperate to get his first win as Ipswich Town manager.

The former Portsmouth and Wigan boss replaced Paul Lambert on March 2nd and took charge of his first game four days later – a 3-1 loss away at Gillingham. His second match in charge saw the Tractor Boys take a point off promotion hopefuls Lincoln City at Portman Road as they look to get their playoff push back on track.

Of course, this was far from a bad start, but Ipswich fans will be hopeful that it’s third time lucky for Cook as they welcome Plymouth Argyle to Suffolk on Saturday afternoon.

The Pilgrims made a promising start to life back in League One, lingering outside just outside the playoff places for much of the season. However, Ryan Lowe’s men have seen their form drastically tail off recently, and have subsequently dropped down to 15th in the table.

Plymouth come into the clash having won just one of their last six games, drawing one and losing four. Most recently, they suffered a humiliating 2-0 defeat at home to relegation-battling Wigan Athletic, widening the gap between the Pilgrims and the playoff places to seven points.

Despite their dire start to the campaign, Ipswich are in a much better situation than many fans would’ve expected. They remain in 7th, just one point off Portsmouth in the last playoff spot, with at least one game in hand on four of the clubs above them.

In the last 13 games of their run-in, Cook’s side face just two teams in the top half of the table (Portsmouth and Charlton), giving them a platform to build up a run of wins and secure a top six finish. Nonetheless, this will require the 54-year-old drastically changing the mentality at the club.

For much of the season, the players seemed to accept mediocrity, dropping points against teams battling at the other end of the table. Of course, Cook has only been in time for a short period of time, but he now has a huge opportunity to prove that his side have changed from what they were just a few weeks ago.

Their Devonshire opponents have the second worst form in the entire division based on their last five matches, as a push for the playoffs looks increasingly unlikely for Lowe’s men. Barring a huge turnaround, they’ve all but secured their place in the third tier for next season – but it seems anything more than a mid-table finish is out of the question for the Pilgrims.

While Ipswich will be the clear favourites to come away with three points, it will hinge on them shutting out one of League One’s top scorers. 21-year-old Luke Jephcott has scored 16 goals for Plymouth in 30 games this season, putting him fourth in the charts behind Jonson Clarke-Harris, Charlie Wyke and Mallik Wilks. He scored against the Tractor Boys in the reverse fixture at Home Park, although the Pilgrims went on to lose 2-1.

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