'High-quality' short-list is in Plymouth Argyle director of football mix

A SHORT-LIST of candidates for the new post of Argyle's director of football has been drawn up.

Interviews are scheduled to be carried out by an appointments panel, chaired by club director Colin Sexstone and including Pilgrims' boss Carl Fletcher, over the next 10 days. An announcement will be made following this.

Fletcher, 32, is in his first full season as a manager and has welcomed the decision to add a director of football to the staff at Home Park.

An Argyle spokesman told Herald Sport: "The club has received a good response from high-quality candidates.

"An appointments panel has considered these applications and short-listed a number of candidates."

The Pilgrims are seeking an experienced former manager to provide support to Fletcher, who was thrust into the hot-seat in September 2011 after the sacking of Peter Reid.

The Pilgrims have lost seven of their last eight games in all competitions and that has led to calls from some fans for Fletcher to be replaced.

However, Sexstone and Argyle's owner and chairman James Brent have both stressed there are no plans to change the manager.

Fletcher told Herald Sport: "There has been a lack of football people around the place (the club) for a while.

"We have got some great commercial and financial people on the board, but football knowledge has been in short supply.

"It would be good to get the right person to come in and help with that side of it."

Fletcher continued: "From my point of view, I have been a manager for just over a year and I'm still learning.

"This is the first football club James Brent has owned so we are both novices.

"We are both learning day to day and it would be good to get in someone with a bit of experience who I can bounce ideas off, or help when I need it.

"I really enjoy the training and things like that. I don't have issues with that.

"But when it comes to budgets and other off-field aspects, I have not come close to doing that before because I have played football for all my career.

"Help on that side of it would be a bonus. I just want to learn.

"It's important we get the right person in – someone who wants to be at the football club and gets on with the manager.

"You have seen it at Exeter City with (director of football) Steve Perryman and (manager) Paul Tisdale. They get on really well. I think it wouldn't work if they didn't get on."

Fletcher believes someone with managerial experience in League One and Two, rather than at a higher level, would be beneficial.

He added: "There is no point bringing someone in whose ideals about football are punting it up to a big man and going from there because that's not how we want to play football.

"We want to keep the ball on the ground, if we can, and play when it's on. Someone with the same ideas as me would be a benefit.

"I'm learning every day and it would be great to have someone with that experience who I could ask, 'Did we do that right?' and they can say, 'Yes, you did' or, 'You might want to think about doing it this way'.

"I'm not a closed book. I don't think I know everything about football.

"I'm sure there are managers who have been in football for 10-15 years who are still learning all the time.

"For me to get better, it's important to get the right person in."

Former Norwich City and Wigan Athletic manager John Deehan had a spell as Argyle's director of football towards the end of last season but his contract was not renewed in the summer.

"It was a different time and different circumstances then," said Fletcher.