PRESSURE on Tom Cleverley is now reaching boiling point after Plymouth Argyle’s 3-1 defeat to Huddersfield Town on Saturday marked their tenth loss in 14 League One games.

Argyle’s latest loss dragged the Pilgrims to the very bottom of the table and left their head coach fighting to steady a rapidly sinking ship.

Cleverley, once hailed as the man to restore pride and purpose at Home Park, now finds himself staring down a full-blown crisis. His team have collected just 13 points all season, losing four consecutive league matches and tumbling out of the FA Cup in the process. What was meant to be a season of rebuilding has sadly turned into a grim struggle for survival.

The mood among the 1,200-strong travelling Green Army in West Yorkshire was one of despair. They had made one of their longest trips of the season, clinging to the hope of a response, but were given little to cheer. By the final whistle, boos again echoed from the away end, frustration spilling over at yet another lifeless display.

Cleverley did not hide from the reality of Argyle’s situation. He said: “It hurts a hell of a lot to say that your football team is at the bottom of the league. That really hurts my pride. It’s not in my nature. But something that is in my nature is fighting. Until told otherwise, I’ll grit my teeth, I’ll work hard, and I’ll help the players whichever way I can.”

Argyle were seconds away from reaching half-time on level terms when Bojan Radulovic pounced in the 45th minute to give Huddersfield the lead. The Pilgrims’ fragile confidence crumbled again after the break as Dion Charles and substitute Cameron Ashia made it 3-0, before Lorent Tolaj’s late diving header provided only a faint consolation.

Post-game Cleverley refused to blame injuries, fatigue or refereeing decisions, though he admitted the scale of the challenge is certainly daunting.

“I could sit here and say the third goal was a foul,” he said. “I could say we’ve had six away games on the bounce and the longest travel distances in the league, but that helps no one. What matters now is finding solutions.”

For all his honesty, Cleverley’s words will do little to ease the growing unrest among supporters. Argyle’s collapse has been stark. In September, the same players were flying – winning five matches and drawing one across all competitions – but that momentum has evaporated.

“We don’t turn into a terrible staff overnight,” he insisted. “The messaging and the principles are the same as when we were winning. But the players’ confidence is shot. When it’s one or two, it’s manageable. When it’s eight, nine, ten players struggling, and you can’t rotate, it becomes a real problem.”

Cleverley acknowledges time is fast running out. A young squad short on experience now looks lost and brittle, and with fixtures piling up, Argyle must quickly rediscover their fight before the gap to safety grows unbridgeable.

"They are a fanbase that has lost nearly 60 games in two years and three months,” added Cleverley. “They have every right to be frustrated. There is an acceptance of defeat that we have to and must change. This is going to be a long hard road with a group of players that need a lot of developing and progression.”