Tom Cleverley gives his first interview, expressing immense pride and honour on becoming the new Plymouth Argyle head coach.
The 35 year old highlighted the League One club’s impressive facilities and passionate fanbase, feeling a strong alignment with the club’s vision for stability and long-term success, which he aims to achieve through hard work, loyalty, and tactical expertise.
Cleverley also confirmed three additions to his backroom staff, Damon Lathrope joins as Assistant Head Coach, Matt Bevans joins as first-team coach, and Chris Douglas joins as first-team performance analyst.
Cleverley’s prior experiences as a player and coach at the stadium gave him insight into the galvanising atmosphere and community spirit at Argyle.
He values the positive fan reaction to his appointment but remains focused on delivering sustained success through a strong work ethic and a cohesive coaching staff.
Conversations with the board reinforced his belief in the club’s balanced and stable approach, making clear a long-term vision over short-term results. Despite his relatively short coaching career, Cleverley’s time in Watford’s academy and first team provided a robust grounding, equipping him to develop players and foster a winning mentality.
Cleverley expects his players to work hard, maintain a strong team culture, and express themselves within a clear tactical framework, accepting that mistakes are part of growth, aiming for his team to control games with purposeful possession, penetrate defences, and press aggressively when out of possession, prioritising intensity and fan connection.
While he believes in an adaptable coaching style over rigid tactics, he stresses consistency in certain principles, particularly out of possession, and openness to input from others.
With pre-season approaching, Cleverley is eager to start working with the players and immerse himself in the football environment, driven by his love for the game and anticipation of building a successful team at Plymouth Argyle.
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Interviewer: Welcome. Got the the stadium behind you, and you sat here as the new head coach of Plymouth Argyle. How does that feel?
Tom: Yeah. Very honoured. Really proud. It shows you I think you see the the size of the club when you sat here, you know, the quality of the facilities, the stadium, and the size of the stadium in the background. And it’s a real proud moment for me in my career, especially in my fairly short coaching career. As soon as I connected with with people at the club, I knew that this was a really great move for me in my career, and and I feel like we’re both craving real longevity now and stability, and that’s something that Argyle brings brings me. And, I can’t wait to get started.
Interviewer: Yeah. You you you would have come here last season. You’ve come here as a player as well. So you’ll have known about the club, but what was your sort of perception about Argyle? And then has it has it changed at all since you’ve you’ve come in the door?
Tom: Yeah. So my two experiences of of been inside the the stadium behind us, the atmosphere. I experienced it once as a player and once as a coach, and a little bit different experiences as the head coach in terms of I was suspended that game, so I was really in amongst it. I saw Andre Gray’s equalising goal go in when I was heading from director’s box to tunnel, so I was as in amongst it as as you can possibly get. So I understand how, although I was at the opposite end, how important the atmosphere can be, how good it is here, how passionate people, and ultimately how much the football club behind us really galvanises this community, and that’s important to me.
Interviewer: Yeah. And you seem to have people on board already. Have you I don’t know whether you look at kind of reaction or whatever, but it’s been pretty positive. In fact, almost exclusively positive since you’ve you’ve come in. So is that a I don’t know. Is that something that you feel pleased about, happy about, that that people are so happy that you have you’ve accepted the job?
Tom: Absolutely. I think, the longer you spend in football, the more you manage to block out external noise, but we’re human beings. Of course, you’d want a positive reaction rather than a negative one. I think you’ll know by my inactivity on social media. I’m not really one who’s going to be sifting through it, but I think what I can guarantee the football club and its supporters is there’ll be an incredible amount of hard work for me and my staff to make sure that this is a success. Not a short success, not medium success, not a but a long term success. We’re a loyal group. We’re a very, very hardworking group. And in my opinion, we’re technically and tactically very good group, but that’s for us to to prove. But the the the other two things we can guarantee that is loyalty and hard work.
Interviewer: Yeah. You mentioned, you know, one of the big things was about kind of just getting a bit of, I don’t know, stability and longevity. And also the project at Argyle seems quite kind of interesting because we are looking to kind of rebound and get back up into the Championship after a difficult season last year. What were those conversations like with the board around that when they were talking to you?
Tom: Yeah. I love how, well balanced and stable the club feels. That was both from looking at it from the outside, but when you meet Simon, when you meet David, when you meet Andrew, I really felt well aligned with of course, we’re in a results industry. We’re in a short term results industry, but there has to be a longer term vision, a real process to bring you long term success and stability, and to make sure that that that that your performances are sustainable. I think Simon’s someone who really understands that part of it. And and listen, no one loves winning football games as much as me, and we’ll prepare to win absolutely every single game. But we will also prepare something that I feel will give us a real long term, stability and and success and and a journey and an exciting journey.
Interviewer: Yeah. Absolutely. In terms of you then, you know, I think it’s fair to say still very much on the young side when it comes to being a coach and a and a head coach in particular. However, I feel as if you have experienced quite a lot already, you know, being a youth in the youth setup, being a captain even, and then stepping up into the first team at Watford and then taking over full time. So in, what, is it, like, two years? You’ve crammed in quite a lot. Tell us about the sort of things that you’ve picked up from that and what you’ve gained and where you feel you are now.
Tom: Academy football is an unbelievable grounding for a coach. It’s in my eight months, in the academy, you’re the coach, you’re the kit man, you’re the analyst, You’re the secretary. So you do everything. You you have to release your own players, which is comes later down the line when you’re delivering first team players, but bad news. Yeah. It’s a great grounding. In my eight months there, I think I coach 70 games. And then you I get you get flung into the hot seat, which I felt as prepared as I could be for. And then, yeah, it was it was something I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. Like I said, I’ve got a passion for developing people and players. I’ve got a passion for winning. Those two things are are really helpful in the job I’m in. And and, yeah, it is I couldn’t recommend more the the time that I spent in the academy.
Interviewer: You’ve alluded to a couple of these things already, but probably good to get it from you again. But the I’ll ask you two questions here. What would the players expect from from you as an head coach?
Tom: Yeah. So first of all, we we have to work hard. We have to prepare well, thoroughly. There there has to be a strong environment. I’ve been part of successful teams, and I’ve been been part of failing teams. And yes there’s a difference in quality, there’s a difference in budget but the overriding thing is there’s a difference in in the environment and the culture and how resilient the group is. So that has to everything we do has to come from a foundation of that. Be a good teammate, be a good person, and then after that, we can talk about technically and tactically. But, yeah, the players must feel a freedom to express themselves, and from there, there will be mistakes. There will be, when we have to deal with failures and that’s comes back to the strong culture. But, there will be a framework and a clarity that the players have, but within that, they have to feel that they have the right to take risks to really to really express themselves. And and from there, we hopefully, we we provide our supporters with with an exciting football team to watch.
Interviewer: Yeah. And on that, supporters wise, what what would they see from your sides, do you think?
Tom: So I’d expect us to control the football. We’ll be planning to control the football. From that, there has to be a purpose. I’m not one of those who who wants to control football because I like looking at the the stats after the game and we had 70% possession. There has to be a penetration. There has to be a final product, a real purpose to our possession of the football. And from there, if that breaks down we’re gonna counter press hard, we’re gonna be intense and aggressive. Again we have positive reactions, hard work, to play like that you have to be fit. But yeah, I like to control the controllables and let’s start off with intensity and aggression and I think that’s, when I talk about preserving the atmosphere and the connection we have with our Argyle supporters, then that’s a good place to start.
Interviewer: How key do you think it is to to obviously have a clear way in which you want either to play or to coach or what have you, but also have the ability to be flexible, I suppose, with tactics or personnel or I don’t know. How key is that not to be too wedded to it? Or do you feel as if if you are excellent at what you do and then you do it as well as you can, then that will be good enough?
Tom: Yeah. I think the first of all, I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way. I think there’s a way that you believe in, and there’s a way to be authentic. And and my way is, I would be I’m on more on the adaptable side of coaching than the rigid, Okay. If it’s not working, let’s do it better way. I think there’s some things that you have to be really consistent with and that helps the players, especially out of possession. That’s one thing I learned is there’s some things that there are helpful to the players in being consistent and competitive with. There are some things on and off the field that you have to adapt to as a coach. I think it’s an important part for me is being able to listen, being able to let others others have input. And and, yeah, if something’s not working we don’t rip the whole script up, but we can adjust it. For example, if we’re having a load of possession and and no final product then that needs adapting a little bit. We don’t all of a sudden become a counter attacking team, but that’s to be an adaptation to make sure we’re we’re getting the best out of what what we’ve got.
Interviewer: Just to finally touch on the fact that we are only a couple of days out from the start of pre season. The players will be back very, very soon. You’ll be, you know, right in the throng of kind of getting ready for the for the season. How much are you looking forward to that?
Tom: I can’t wait. It’s as I’ll have to be honest. As a player, I didn’t always look forward to to see seeing the grass again after six weeks off. As a coach, I miss it after three days. You know? This is this is why you you do the long hours. This is why you you don’t retire as a player and and just play golf because the smell of the grass, the sound of the balls, the sound of the studs clattering off the pavement walking up the up to the training ground. The these are this is football. This is this is why I absolutely love it and I can’t wait to get, to meet the players, make the supporters, and get get to work on the grass. Well, we can’t wait to see you in action either.
Fans reacted as Tom Cleverley gives his first interview on becoming the new Plymouth Argyle head coach…
@CarlBarnard15: longevity and loyalty is what this club needs right now, not fancy words and looking good for the cameras, excellent first impressions. Roll on August! 
#pafc
@Richard84185456: I like what tom saying here all positive things
@jug1988: Really looking forward to seeing what the club can achieve this season and hopefully watching some decent football. Proof will be in the pudding of course but TC comes across as so much more genuine than MM ever did which is a good start. #pafc
@neil_duignan: Beautiful words to hear. Sounds like an intelligent, articulate guy with lots of energy and great contacts. Bring the season on!
@scaifey1999: Speaks very well. I’m really excited about this appointment 
@Adam_Price17: Yeah, big fan. Great at the end when he said “this is why you don’t retire and play golf.” Culture shock in store for the new investor. #pafc
@OBHFL: He comes across well, liked the first interview
@PAFC_Fi: Exciting times ahead with Tom. Roll on August 
@Cordy17x: Probably about as good a first impression as you can give tbh, seems a very articulate and genuine bloke. The reiteration of it being a long term project was very good to hear. Uppa Tom Clev!
@Benjosephjones: Every manager wants to give the best possible first impression. Just remember, this man will have his own ambition, just like we do as fans. On the other hand, the risk taking/attacking football will suit some of our out of favour players so much more. Exciting times! #pafc
@jm_bell95: Powerful, strong first interview from Tom Cleverley with @CharliePrice10 on Argyle TV. Reiterates on a number of occasions the words ‘hard work’, ‘loyalty’ and that this is a long term project. His actions will be judged more than his words but it’s a positive start 
#pafc
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