Pre-season is under way, which means Ian Holloway is conducting interviews once again. Hooray! Ollie has welcomed himself back into the limelight by claiming his sights are set on promotion to the Premier League. The Plymouth boss said: “Everything I am doing, everything my staff are doing, everything we are trying to do as a board and as a company is geared towards the Premier League. Last year, we had a good cup run, didn’t flirt with any sort of disaster, we were in the top half of the table most of the year, and finished 11th.
“If we can get an extra few percent out of each one of our lads, if I can get my scouting network to get things and anybody we borrow or bring in realises what we are trying to at Argyle, if they can buy into the passion of the fans, which is absolutely undoubted, then who’s to say we cannot get there.”
Ollie also accused Spanish giants Real Madrid of bottling out of a pre-season friendly. The Pilgrims played Real during a tour of Austria last year after agreeing to give up their hotel. The La Liga champions played a friendly against Argyle and stumped up their hotel fees. Ollie said: “”We went last year and the training facilities and everything went like clockwork. However, we’ve got to pay for our own hotel this year. It’s a shame Real Madrid didn’t fancy the fixture – I reckon they’re a bit afraid of us.”
Welcome back, Mr Holloway. Good to have you on-board for the new season!