GARY Rowett says preparing for Oxford United’s away clash against Plymouth Argyle will be made more difficult by the Pilgrims appointing a new boss.
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney left Argyle by mutual consent following the side’s 2-0 defeat at United last month, with the Pilgrims appointing Miron Muslic as their new head coach on Friday.
Muslic had most recently been in charge at Belgian side Cercle Brugge, and watched from the stands as Argyle pulled off a shock in the third round of the Emirates FA Cup at the weekend.
A Morgan Whittaker strike with eight minutes to go saw the Pilgrims win 1-0 at Premier League outfit Brentford, and Argyle have since been rewarded with a glamour tie at home to Liverpool in the fourth round.
READ ALSO: U’s boss on what Chelsea loanee is set to add to midfield
The change of head coach leads to an element of uncertainty for the U’s, who next Tuesday will also host a Luton Town side in the midst of a managerial change after Rob Edwards left the Hatters in a mutual agreement last week.
United head coach Rowett said: “It’s always an awkward one. We’ve got Luton round the corner as well, so it feels strange sometimes when you end up playing teams that have new managers.
“Of course, it makes preparation a little bit trickier. You’re sort of second-guessing a little bit what they’re going to do, you don’t really know for sure.
“We can of course look at his Brugge team, and see some of those hallmarks around that, which is what we’re going to do.
“That’s why it’s also really important to focus on your own team and your own team’s performance.
“That’s what we’ve tried to do since coming in the building, and we’ve had some good results doing that.
“That’s always my mindset. It’s about us and what we do, but you always have to be as prepared as possible. We’ll try our best to do that, but it will be a little bit tricky.”
On the Pilgrims win against Brentford in the FA Cup, Rowett said: “I don’t know how much the new manager had an impact on that. He didn’t take the game, so I imagine it would’ve been left down to the staff there at the time.
“But of course if you’re a new manager coming in, and you’ve seen your team perform in that way, I would imagine there is an element of not going to change massive amounts, but just put your own stamp on it.
“That’s what we’ll look at, and we’ll have to find the right balance.”