PAUL STURROCK said Plymouth Argyle are 'desperate for another win' against Doncaster Rovers tomorrow as they prepare to enter a two-week international break.

The Pilgrims entertain the Yorkshire side at Home Park (3pm) on the back of a superb 1-0 victory at Middlesbrough last weekend.

That win was Argyle's third success in their last six matches; they have also gained a draw in that time.

Prior to their recent improvement in form, Argyle had made a disastrous start to the 2009/10 campaign.

They drew their first two matches against QPR and Crystal Palace.

They then lost their next seven games before breaking their duck with a 2-1 win at Peterborough on September 29.

The Pilgrims' recent upturn leaves them 22nd on 12 points – one point behind fourth-bottom Reading and from escape from the relegation zone.

It has also taken them to within five points of eight teams, with five of those sides locked on 17 points.

Victory over Doncaster would take Argyle level on points with Rovers.

Argyle manager Sturrock said: "With the international break coming up, we are desperate for another win.

"We want to close the gap on as many teams as possible – we would like to see it become a 10-horse race.

"I think at the end of the day, three points at Middlesbrough was a great benefit to us because it sucked a good three or four teams into the (relegation) tussle.

"There are teams who are still five points away from us, who we would like to bring closer."

Sturrock added: "The important thing is that we keep on winning football games.

"We would like to get out of the bottom three, but whether we are out or not, we want to bring as many teams as possible into the fray as soon as possible.

"We want the 10 bottom teams to be looking over their shoulder. I am saying the more the merrier for me – that means there is more opportunity for us to slip out of the bottom three.

"Three points tomorrow will go a long way, along with one or two other results.

"If they go our way and we get a win we are breathing down people's throats, two points behind them."

Argyle's upturn has seen them rewarded with 10 points from their last six matches.

In a form table measuring Championship teams' last six results, the Pilgrims would sit eighth.

Sturrock said it was his and head coach Paul Mariner's job to try and ensure the Argyle players continue their encouraging run.

"Winning is habit-forming and we have had three wins and one draw in our last six," said Sturrock.

"If that kind of form was transported through the rest of the season, I think we would comfortably be mid-table.

"That is what we want to emphasise to the players."

Should they beat Doncaster at Home Park tomorrow, Argyle would record just their second win in eight home matches.

Their one and only home success this season came on October 3, 2-1 over Scunthorpe.

When asked why his side had struggled in front of their own supporters, Sturrock said: "There have been all sorts of combinations of things why.

"We have never had a settled back four, which I am still a great believer in.

"If we had the same back four until the end of the season I do believe we would win and draw more games.

"They start to read each other and they start to know each other and we, as a team, would start to benefit from that.

"I think that has been the key to it all. We have had such an unsettled time defensively that there has been a worry about us when we play. There is a worry about the fan base – you can tell when they all go quiet they are worried."

Sturrock added: "The other teams are not now sitting on a bus for 10 hours coming down to Plymouth.

"They are now taking the opportunity of flying into Plymouth or Exeter, so the criteria we used to have where teams were what you called sluggish is no longer.

"This is the Championship where the individual player can hurry you as well, so it is a combination of things."