Plymouth Argyle boss Ian Foster admitted that he decided to leave out Ashley Phillips and Alfie Devine from the starting eleven against Middlesbrough as he felt both players needed some rest.
Those at Tottenham will be quite pleased with their decisions to send Phillips and Devine to Plymouth as both players have featured regularly since his move.
The centre-back has hardly put a foot wrong, showing incredible maturity, carrying on from where he left at Blackburn Rovers last season despite hardly playing any football during the first half of the season at Tottenham.
Devine made a slightly more circumspect start to his spell at Home Park Stadium, having not featured in the Championship before but the young attacking midfielder has shown plenty of positive signs over the last couple of weeks.
It came as a surprise when both Spurs youngsters started on the bench for Plymouth for their trip to the Riverside Stadium on Saturday.
Devine and Phillips both needed a rest at Plymouth
Devine came on as a 73rd-minute substitute while Phillips came on in the 84th minute, helping the away side see out a 2-0 win, with both goals coming in the first half.
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When asked after the game why the duo were left on the bench, Foster told Plymouth Live: “We have to manage the players in these instances. Ashley Phillips is an 18-year-old kid who has come in and played every game for me from the start. Alfie Devine has come in and been excellent for us. These players just need a break at times.”
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Clubs sometimes tend to run on-loan players to the ground as they are not invested in their long-term development. It is great to see that this is not the case at Plymouth, with Foster wanting to protect Devine and Philips.
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