'Clever and inventive': Plymouth Argyle boss delivers this Sunderland verdict - and his one selection regret

Schumacher was formerly assistant to Ryan Lowe, who left at the start of the week to join Preston North End.

The Pilgrims drew 1-1 with MK Dons in midweek, but were comprehensively outplayed in the first half.

The second period represented a significant improvement, and Shumacher insisted that he felt his side's performances were not far off where they needed to be despite a run of four defeats in five games overall.

Poor defending cost them dearly in the opening stages, which will be a key focus moving forward for the new boss.

"It wasn't a great start, obviously," Schumacher said.

"We're disappointed to have given them a 2-0 head start, it's a tough enough game here at the best of times.

"They scored from a well-worked corner routine and sometimes you have to hold your hand up and say fair play, it was clever and it inventive.

"The second goal we're very disappointed with because we felt it was too easy.

"For the rest of the half we hung on in, to be honest, we were under pressure even though we had a lot of the ball, they looked the more likely.

"Second half we got a bit closer to them, won a lot more second balls, had more of a threat.

"On another day one of the little half chances we had might go in and you've fought back and got something out the game.

"We're not too far away from what we want to see from our team, we're just lacking a little bit of quality at the moment.

"Defensively, we're not performing quite as well as we were earlier in the season, but it's fine margins."

The Plymouth Argyle boss admitted he had been left with one selection regret, after Leon Dajaku's superb first-half display.

Having been unable to select regular wing-back Conor Grant due to a minor injury, Schumacher opted to move Ryan Broom into the role.

But after the second goal down that flank he switched with Joe Edwards; his side lookimg more solid thereafter.

Lynden Gooch's superb attacking display against Morecambe in midweek had been one of the key factors in that initial decision, but the American had a more restrained role this time around as Dajaku regularly broke forward.

"That's probably one in hindsight where I think, I maybe got that wrong," Schumacher said.

"We swapped them over and we did look more solid.

"When I look at the work Sunderland do and all the information we had on them, Lynden Gooch is one of their most creative players and I'm thinking, it's good to have probably our best defensive wing-back on that side. You also see Nathan Broadhead on that side, and he's a real handful, in really good form at the moment.

"So that was the thinking, it was tough for Broomy. He looked more comfortable when we got him on the right."

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