'Rubbing their hands' - Plymouth boss bemoans fixture schedule ahead of Leeds United clash

Plymouth Argyle manager Ian Foster is unhappy with the fact his side will have a day’s less rest compared to Saturday's opponents Leeds United.

Leeds will make the long trip south to Home Park for the second time in less than two weeks on Saturday, having beaten Plymouth 4-1 after extra-time in their FA Cup fourth round replay earlier this month. The 321-mile journey is the latest in a string of tough away-days which has also seen Daniel Farke's men at Swansea and Bristol in recent fixtures.

The former of those two trips came on Tuesday and resulted in a seventh straight Championship win, with Crysencio Summerville, Joel Piroe and Wilfried Gnonto on the scoresheet in a 4-0 victory. Argyle drew 2-2 at home to Coventry City on Wednesday and while they have the luxury of keeping it local, Foster believes the schedule has been unkind to them.

"The game on Saturday comes very quickly so we have got to make sure we recover both physically and more importantly mentally," he told Plymouth Live on Wednesday. "It's going to be mentally challenging for the players.

“I’m sure Leeds United will be rubbing their hands. Last time we played them they played on Friday night and had another day’s rest. We play them Saturday and they played last night so they get another day’s rest.

“I’m sure they will look at that and think we are going into it physically and mentally tired but we will be fine. We will make sure the players get all the support they need between now and Saturday at 12.30.”

Farke has been vocally critical of Leeds' scheduling in recent weeks at a time when his side have put in more mileage than most. Since the turn of the year, the Whites have been in Peterborough, Cardiff , Plymouth, Bristol and Swansea.

Speaking after the FA Cup in over Plymouth and subsequent confirmation they will face Chelsea in the next round, the German hit out at the decision to move trips to Huddersfield Town and Sheffield Wednesday to a Saturday lunchtime and Friday evening respectively, with a midweek home game against Stoke City in between making it four games in 10 days.

"There must be (someone) who judges the bigger picture and says 'the load for Leeds is incredible',” Farke said last week. “It feels ridiculous. We always have mental health awareness days, the well-being of players, coaches, staff members, but when it comes down to business, it doesn’t matter. I’m struggling to understand this. We need (someone) to take not smart decisions but obvious decisions."