Plymouth Argyle owner Simon Hallett says he and the club’s board will stick with head coach Tom Cleverley.
The Pilgrims are second-from-bottom of League One with five wins from 17 games.
Their injury-hit squad has conceded more goals than any other side in the third tier and won just two of their last 10 games in all competitions.
Hallett faced calls to sack the 36-year-old former Watford boss and England and Manchester United player at a fans’ forum this week.
“We have decided to back him and to support him,” he said in a statement.
“When we hired Tom, we chose a young, ambitious, highly-qualified coach who was prepared to commit to the club.
“He has been working with a squad that was not put together in the way any of us would have wished, with significant injuries and too much turnover.
“That does not excuse results, but it is part of the context.”
Having brought in former manager Derek Adams as director of football last month, many felt it was a sign that he could take over should Cleverley go.
But Hallett, who has been Argyle’s majority owner since 2019 and is still looking for new investment, says Adam’s has been impressed with Cleverley.
“Derek has been clear, from his first days back, that Tom is strong on the training ground, clear in his coaching, and well regarded by players and staff,” he added.
“There were also questions about tactics and in-game management.
“We review those areas continually with Tom and his staff, and Derek’s arrival gives us another experienced voice in that process.
“He has seen in Tom someone who can succeed both tactically and culturally
“Changing head coach again would bring its own disruption and cost. It is not something we rule out in all circumstances.
“If we believed that making a change now would improve our chances of avoiding relegation, we would act.
“Right now we believe the best route is to keep Tom in post, to strengthen the squad and the staff structure around him, and to correct the weaknesses in recruitment processes that led us to this position.”
‘We changed too much, too quickly, on and off the pitch’
Those weaknesses in recruitment are highlighted by Argyle being 23rd in League One despite what Hallett says is the sixth-biggest transfer budget.
The club struggled to sign a striker in the summer and has seen massive churn at senior levels.
Cleverley is the third head coach in less than a year after Wayne Rooney’s disastrous time in charge before replacement Miron Muslic left after failing to save Argyle from relegation from the Championship.
There are on their second director of football and second chief executive in that time while two heads of recruitment have left and David Fox has come in as head of football operations.
“Over the last 18 months we have made too many decisions that did not work,” admitted Hallett.
“Some of the structures and processes that helped us succeed in previous seasons eroded.
“We changed too much, too quickly, on and off the pitch.
“Our summer recruitment did not give us the balanced, resilient squad we needed for this division.
“That is not down to one person. It is the result of collective decisions, and we are collectively responsible for fixing it.”
