Ex-QPR - Ian Holloway on Coach Gary Penrice Expanded Plymouth Role and his Gardening Leave

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PENRICE TARGETS ARGYLE SIGNINGS

Plymouth Argyle chief scout Gary Penrice has come up with a list of close season transfer targets for manager Ian Holloway.There are expected to be plenty of comings and goings at Home Park during the summer as Holloway tries to build a squad that is capable of challenging for promotion next term.

That will not be an easy task though, as he will have to work with limited financial resources compared to many other Championship clubs.

Penrice followed Holloway to Argyle from Queens Park Rangers, but only started work for his new employers in September - three months after the Pilgrims' boss.

That was because of a wrangle over his departure from Loftus Road where, like Holloway, he had been put on gardening leave by QPR chairman Gianni Paladini.

Holloway said: "Gary had six months sat on his backside in the garden, and that isn't good for a chief scout.

"He wasn't allowed to go and watch other games because it would have been deemed as breach of contract.

"Obviously, it was important he did nothing wrong and we did nothing wrong. We had to get that right."He had to play catch up, and now I have got to try to get going and have a look at the targets he has reported to me."

Holloway would have done that sooner had Argyle not suffered three successive away defeats in what he has described as 'the week from hell'.

The Pilgrims lost 3-0 at Ipswich Town on March 31 and crashed 4-0 to Burnley before being beaten 2-1 away to Leeds United on April 7.

Holloway said: "I didn't want to leave my team after the week from hell so that really hurt us.

"I would probably have been off the last couple of Saturdays to watch targets he (Penrice) had given me who might be available, might be in our price range and might improve us."

Penrice's main role with Argyle has been as chief scout, but Holloway also wants him to work with some of the club's strikers at the training ground.

There have not been many opportunities to do that this season because Penrice has been so busy checking out transfer targets.

But the 43-year-old did have a session with Sylvan Ebanks-Blake before Argyle's 2-1 home defeat of Southend United on Saturday.

Ebanks-Blake opened the scoring in that game with his eighth goal of the season.

Holloway said: "Gary had an hour's talk with Sylvan on Friday and went through a video with him.

"It was about his movement in the box and there was a definite improvement on Saturday.

"He got across the front and scored, he got across the front with a header and missed and he got his studs on another one in the second half."

Holloway added: "Next season I do see Gary having an active role with the young strikers we have got - that's why we have got young ones.

"Barry Hayles and Kevin Gallen, as they proved again on Saturday, can do things some of the younger ones can't." Plymouth Herald


Also Holloway On Penrice - Plymouth Official Site