KARL Robinson is full of admiration for the way Plymouth Argyle have battled their way to the top of Sky Bet League One.

The Devon side are two points clear of Sheffield Wednesday, and a further six of Ipswich Town and Bolton Wanderers.

Argyle narrowly missed out on the play-off places last season, and have been one of the dominant sides throughout this campaign.

Their push at the right end of the table comes despite losing a couple of key figures.

Last season, Ryan Lowe took over as Preston North End manager midway through the campaign, having previously led Argyle to promotion to League One in the 2019/20 season.

On this summer’s deadline day, influential midfielder Panutche Camara joined Ipswich for an undisclosed fee.

Even though the likes of Lowe and Camara have left Argyle, the club is still fighting hard at the very top of League One.

Lowe was replaced by Steven Schumacher, who put pen to paper on a two-year extension in November, while academy graduate Adam Randell has become a key figure in the middle of the park this season.

Oxford United head coach Robinson said: “They’ve kept consistency with the director of football, consistency in manager to manager.

“Young players who when Camara moved on, you had Randell coming into it.

“A bit like us in some ways that we had that sustainability project where we sign a player, keep them for maybe 18 months and then sell them.

“A player then steps into the jersey and they’ve almost looked at that as a model.

“They’ve done really well in sustainability and not getting too carried away at certain stages with too many highs or too many lows.

“That sustainability doesn’t half create a unified group of people that work for one football club.”

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Robinson also feels that Argyle have another weapon up their sleeve, in their geographical location.

He said: “They have a uniqueness down in Plymouth as well, they’re so far away from anywhere else in the world.

“They have that almost walled-like city mentality where you roll your sleeves up and it’s us against the world.

“They can do that because of where they are, there’s no other football teams.

“Exeter’s the nearest and maybe Truro, so I don’t think they’re in that much competition for a fanbase.

“With that fanbase, the stadium, new training ground and everything they’ve been building behind the scenes, it’s been a progression year in, year out.”