''We all follow his lead' - How Tom Cleverley sets the tone at Argyle

Cleverley has led the Pilgrims to third place in League One after three consecutive victories and they have scored 10 goals in those wins.

That comes after Argyle narrowly missed out on a play-off place last season, when they recovered from a torrid start to Cleverley's time as head coach by going on a superb run of results over the second half of the campaign.

Lathrope has experienced it all with the 37-year-old former Manchester United and England midfielder as his No 2 and admires the amount of effort Cleverley puts into his job.

"I think he's a big learner, he's a big thinker, he's an absolute relentless worker and that won't change," said Lathrope, who was also Cleverley's assistant at Watford.

"He doesn't change what he does. He's going to get better and better the longer he goes because he's so invested, leaves no stone unturned.

"For me seeing it first hand, I felt it was kind of inevitable the trend would be that we would get better and better because of the preparation I see that goes into it, and the time I see him invest to try and give the team the best chance possible.

"We all follow his lead. When someone is doing them amount of hours and putting that amount of thought and care into what they do, it creates a really healthy environment for us to come and work in, and I think the players see that as well."

Argyle were bottom of League One after picking up only 13 points from their first 15 fixtures in 2025/26, but since then have won 22 and drawn seven out of 38 matches.

Throughout it all, Cleverley has managed to maintain the balance of not getting too low about the lows and too high about the highs.

Lathrope said: "I think it's easier said than done because the lows certainly hit you harder than the highs make you happy.

"I think that's because you are content when you win and when you lose you really want to find out why and you want to do everything possible to put that right.

"Tom has done an excellent job in my opinion finding solutions when we have needed them, and adapting to whatever situation or circumstance is in front of him.

"I think the start of last season to the end of last season showed you the capabilities he has got as a manager, to adapt and find the best way with what he's working with to get the best result.

"That is a huge quality in a manager that, for sure, is going to give him the best chance of being successful with whatever teams he is involved in."

Lathrope has been a big part of the Argyle journey for Cleverley as his No 2 and the former Torquay United midfielder has thoroughly enjoyed it.

He said: "I love it, absolutely love it. I haven't worked one day in those 53 league games. That's the way we see it, it's not a chore to ever come into this football club.

"It's a fantastic football club and you feel a big part of something when you are here. It does have that family feel, everyone in it together feel.

"It has been brilliant. It just fuels our ambition and our hope for the future. We feel like we are building something nicely here. We are not getting carried away at all.

"We are still just focused on the next game, trying to win that next fixture, but I think everyone has got that feelgood feeling about themselves and about the place at the moment. We are very optimistic about where that can go."

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