Alex MacDonald on Plymouth

By Bill Richards

Alex MacDonald is expecting in-form Plymouth Argyle to give promotion-hunting hosts Burton Albion a real test on Saturday.
MacDonald joined Burton in January but so easily might have been lining up for Argyle at the Pirelli Stadium, had events not scuppered the forward's move to Plymouth.

Former Plymouth Argyle loan signing Alex MacDonald hopes the Pilgrims will not take a tumble at the end of the League Two season
A popular player with the 'Green Army' in his year-long stay at Argyle, MacDonald admitted he will not allow his affection for the Pilgrims sway him from trying to extend Albion's magnificent home run in npower League Two to ten wins on the spin. But he is aware that, under new manager John Sheridan, Plymouth will travel to the historic Staffordshire town in better shape than the club he left.

Four victories in their last five matches have hiked Argyle up to the relatively heady heights of 18th in the standings, three points off the two relegation positions.

Burton ended a three-match wobble, which included a 7-1 defeat at fellow promotion hopefuls Port Vale last Friday, with a morale-boosting 2-0 home win over Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday.

Two goals from Jacques Maghoma moved the Brewers into the third automatic promotion place. MacDonald said: "We'll have everything to play for on Saturday, but then so will Argyle. It's going to be tight and tough."

MacDonald was one of two ex-Argyle players in the team which saw off the Chairboys, with Irish-born Plymouth youth product Damien McCrory established in midfield for Gary Rowett's high-flying Albion side.

MacDonald had been set to sign permanent terms and bring his young family to Plymouth after two successful stints on loan at Home Park from Championship Burnley. But the New Year's Day sacking of then Argyle boss Carl Fletcher ended hopes of the Scotland Under-21 cap's switch to the Westcountry in the January transfer window.

MacDonald insisted: "Everyone knows how much Plymouth means to me personally – but I'll be all professional if selected to play for Burton on Saturday.

"Had things been different, then, yes, I'd have been playing for Argyle and not Albion, and would have been trying as hard to get a win for them, too.

"Argyle look to have turned the corner as far as results and performances are concerned," he added. "No-one is more delighted for the club, players and the fans than I am.

"I was at Home Park for nearly a year on loan and was looking forward to bringing my young family to Plymouth. It's a great place to live and the people treated me brilliantly. But as shattered and gutted as I was when the deal collapsed, with me literally having my bag packed to leave for Plymouth, I'm really enjoying my time here with Burton.

"It's nice looking forward and up the table and not over your shoulder, as we all were at Argyle last year. But Argyle have strengthened and I know we'll have to be at the top of our game to keep our run going.

"I just hope the Argyle fans will remember me fondly and give me a good reception on Saturday. I also hope they understand if I then do my best to keep us [Burton] in the promotion hunt.

"We've only got three games left, including Saturday, so every point is vital to us, just as it is for Argyle for different reasons. I'm really looking forward to the game – it has all the makings of a close and tightly-fought game."

MacDonald had two loan spells at Home Park in 2012, spread over two parts of successive seasons. He made 35 first-team appearances for Argyle, and scored six goals.

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Seemed a decent chap. 6 in 36 hardly prolific but playing under fletcher aint easy.

He was one of fletches better signings.

He wasnt a bad player but at the same time wasn't a fantastic player either.

People often used to rave about him but I thought he was just an OK player. But then as he's playing for one of the best teams in the division, what do I know?

I think he was one of the only players who could be described as 'top end quality' for this league that we've had all season, evidenced by our form with him in the side under CF being noticeably better than our form without him and him now playing in one of the top sides and (the 7-1 an obvious outlier) top form sides in the league. Seems pretty clear from the tone of his quotes in the article, the fact that his Twitter picture still shows him in an Argyle shirt and some of his tweets to Lee Cox where he'd rather be too. I hope Sheridan swallows his pride that Macca was a Fletcher signing and makes the call at the end of the season.