Plymouth get tips from England's Steve Holland ahead of Bolton final

Director of football Neil Dewsnip worked with Holland at Northwich Victoria and the pair were  reunited while coaching for the FA years later.

Dewsnip says the Pilgrims are “trying everything” to give them the best chance of success against the Whites.

"What I would say is I spoke to Steve Holland a few weeks ago and asked for guidance, support and advice around the occasion so we have done our research. We will be as prepared as you would hope we would be,” he told Plymouth Live.

"Steve made some good points. He talked about the pitch. We checked the size of the pitch in relation to Home Park and there is very little difference.

"People of an older generation, we would have grown up in a belief that Wembley was massive - big open spaces and so on. Well, not particularly bigger than Home Park actually, so that was worth knowing.

"He talked to us about the dressing rooms, where the dug-outs are in relation to the pitch and how to manage that, so we had a really good chat and his insight was helpful.

"I spent six years working at the FA, it would be silly not to utilise that expertise. We are trying to use everything that we have got to give our players and our fans the best chance of success.”

Plymouth are currently top of the League One table – two points clear of second-place Sheffield Wednesday, who have a game in hand.

The points were shared when Wanderers faced the Pilgrims at the UniBol earlier this year following a goalless draw. Evatt’s men were beaten 2-0 at Home Park back in August after goals from Niall Ennis and Ryan Hardie.

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