Simon Hallett reveals key traits that led to Plymouth Argyle manager decision | OneFootball

Simon Hallett has identified the key reasons behind Miron Muslic's appointment in January

Simon Hallett has revealed why he opted to appoint Miron Muslic as Plymouth Argyle manager following Wayne Rooney’s dismissal.

The 42-year-old took charge in January and has been tasked with turning around the team’s survival hopes in the Championship.

The Pilgrims are at risk of relegation back to League One in just their second campaign in the second tier since 2010.

Muslic has never managed in English football before arriving at Home Park, with his previous coaching experience coming from Austrian side Ried and Belgian club Cercle Brugge.

Simon Hallett opens up on Plymouth Argyle's Miron Muslic appointment

Hallett has claimed that he was initially impressed by Muslic’s charisma, but that it is his style of play and intensity that convinced him to appoint the Austrian-Bosnian.

He also believes that Muslic’s previous success with younger players made him an ideal fit for the current Plymouth squad.

“What wows you is his charisma — but that’s a dangerous thing,” Hallett revealed, via The Athletic.

“It’s important that coaches have some charisma because they’ve got to engage with fans, the media, staff and so on — charisma is not an undesirable quality — you just have to be careful about it when you’re looking for other qualities.

“We hired him because of the intensity of his playing style and his data.

“He massively improved the attack at Cercle Brugge and has had extraordinary success with young players.

“In simple terms, we’ve got one of the youngest squads in the division and younger players can run more.

“So, there’s going to be a lot of running and there will be a lot of demands placed on our front four or five.

“We’ve been weak in implementation at the front and back but our forwards are our skill players and we need to get them more involved.

“But, in the longer run, Miron completely understands the notion of being a selling club.

“We’re investing a lot in our academy, and the player-trading model is a key part of our plan over the next five to 10 years.

“So, having a manager who understands it, and can make it work, is very important."

Plymouth Argyle avoiding Steven Schumacher lure in favour of Miron Muslic may have been bold but correct choice

Hallett has been very open about wanting to take risks with Plymouth due to their relative lack of resources compared to their relegation rivals.

The opportunity to bring back Steven Schumacher would have been the safe choice and perhaps the ones that fans would have been most on board with, but he opted for the riskier appointment in Muslic - a complete unknown in English football but sometimes, that can be the best road to go down.

There are no guarantees there’s anyone that could keep Plymouth in the division due to their current position, but it’s been a positive start for the new manager, with a win over West Brom and a last-gasp draw up at Sunderland negating the horror show at home to Burnley, where they were drubbed 5-0.

The 42-year-old has made a bright start, and could prove a very shrewd hire in the long run, even if the club still ends up getting relegated.