Plymouth Argyle: Ex-Sheffield United manager on radar as Pilgrims close in on appointment | OneFootball

Plymouth Argyle are in the final stages of their search for Ian Foster's replacement in the dugout at Home Park, with former Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom set to be interviewed this week - according to John Percy of The Telegraph.

Argyle have been in search of a new manager since previous head coach Foster was relieved of his duties on April 1 after just three months at Home Park.

Director of football Neil Dewsnip and coach Kevin Nancekivell took temporary charge of the Pilgrims until the end of the season, and did an excellent job in retaining their status as a Championship side for next season.

Now Plymouth must look to the future in the search of a manager they believe can keep the club on an upward trajectory, as they will no doubt have been inspired by the likes of Luton Town and most recently Ipswich Town respectively, as examples that clubs with smaller budgets can compete at the top of the division.

And it appears that this week is going to be a very telling one in regards to that search, as it has been revealed that Heckingbottom is on Plymouth's shortlist to take over.

Plymouth to conduct Paul Heckingbottom interview

As revealed via his X account this afternoon, The Telegraph journalist John Percy has stated that former Blades boss Heckingbottom will be meeting with the Pilgrims this week to discuss their vacancy.

The post also confirms that he is one of several options that are currently being considered to take over at Home Park.

Perhaps the line that will raise the biggest eyebrow from the post is that the club are keen to appoint someone who has vast amounts of experience of the EFL, something that Heckingbottom does possess, and it goes away from their previous appointment of Foster, who had very little experience of being a boss at a significant level.

Heckingbottom now appears to be very high on Plymouth's radar after Liam Rosenior knocked the Devon outfit back last week following his departure from Hull City, as reported by Alan Nixon.

Heckingbottom would match Plymouth Argyle chairman Simon Hallett's desire

Argyle chairman Simon Hallett has made clear his vision for how he wants his Plymouth team to play, and that is an exciting, attacking brand of football.

Speaking shortly after the sacking of Foster, Hallett told Plymouth Live: "At the moment, I think it's too early to say exactly whether we are going to be looking for anything particularly different, but we want to play attacking football, and I think that was one of Ian's problems.

"So a manager who is good at both ends of the pitch - and in the middle! - would be great, somebody who is innovative, who understands the culture here and likes the culture here.

"It's not going to be an Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger type of manager who is in charge of everything. We have got people at the club who are really good and they will be giving advice to the head coach/manager."

In his most recent spell with Sheffield United, Heckingbottom registered a 49 per cent win record between November 2021 and December 2023. It was during that time that he guided the Blades to automatic promotion, with his side scoring 73 goals - the third highest in the Championship that season.

That successful 2022/23 campaign also saw his side tick two of Hallett's most desired boxes, scoring goals as well as keeping them out, as United's 0.8 goals conceded per game and 1.6 goals scored per game were second and third best in the Championship - as per FotMob.

Given those statistics, you would have to presume that he would be highly attracted to working with players such as Morgan Whittaker and Ryan Hardie, should they stay at the football club.

Therefore, Heckingbottom - should he be hired - would seemingly be an ideal fit for a Plymouth side looking to continue their attractive brand of football down in Devon, as it remains to be seen if any other candidates can rival the 46-year-old for the Pilgrims post.