Plymouth goalkeeper Conor Hazard hailed ‘incredible’ Pilgrims manager Miron Muslic after their FA Cup giant-killing of Liverpool.
The Championship side sent the eight-time winners of the competition crashing out with a 1-0 win at Home Park and denying Liverpool an historic quadruple in the process.
Ryan Hardie’s penalty in the 53rd minute propelled Plymouth, currently at the bottom of the Championship, into the fifth round.
While Arne Slot still has his sights set on a potential treble in his debut season, with Liverpool six points clear at the top of the table and finishing top of the Champions League league phase, Hazard and his teammates took immense joy in raining on their parade.
The win was masterminded by Muslic, who’s only been in the job for a little over a month as Plymouth parted ways with predecessor Wayne Rooney on New Year’s Eve.
Hazard was asked by Gabby Agbonlahor for insight into the current Plymouth manager.
“He looks like the sort of manager that’s definitely going to motivate the players,” Gabby said on talkSPORT Breakfast.
“He’s incredible,” Hazard responded.
“From our first meeting, he set the tone really early on, how he wants everyone to be around the place. It’s not just about what’s on the pitch; it’s off the pitch too. He’s doing a great job so far.”
Jeff Stelling recounted Muslic’s moving pre-match interview, where he shared the story of his family’s escape from war-torn Bosnia, carrying only what they could, and how football helped him during those difficult times.
“I watched back his first address to the players,” Stelling said.
“It was so calm but so motivational; I thought this was a guy you would really want to play for.”
Hazard responded: “You would run through brick walls for him at the moment.
“The way he approaches and speaks to you, especially in front of a group, makes you so hyped and motivated. I don’t know how to describe it, but in every way, he could be a motivational speaker of some sort.”
Agbonlahor agreed: “Sometimes, as a player, you need that from a manager. You might be shattered, but you know what? I’m not, I’m going to run even harder. It shows how important that motivation is from a manager.”
“I’m speaking for all the boys here,” Hazard began.
“Even on the training pitch, the way he wants us set up is something everyone loves at the moment.
“The way he speaks to you, whether it’s bad news or good news—when I picked up a small injury after my long-term injury, he spoke to me straight away and provided reassurance. He’s incredible to play for at the moment.”
The clash against Liverpool finished with an additional nine minutes, which was ‘the last thing’ Hazard wanted to see.
“Thank goodness we got it over the line. No complaints.”
Agbonlahor asked Hazard what is it like playing behind the likes of Plymouth defender Nikola Katic and Maksym Talovierov.
“Big Niko lost a tooth and just got on with it. He found it after the game, he won’t be long getting that stuck back in. They’ve been great additions to the team, their performances throughout the past couple of games just shows what they can do going forward,” Hazard said.
“We know our position in the game as well, but I don’t think those two coming in will harm us in anyway.”
Stelling asked Hazard if he expected to be busier during the course of the game, given that Liverpool are currently top of the Premier League.
“Yes, I didn’t think I made any saves until the 90th minute,” Hazard replied. “With them being top of the Premier League and Champions League, as expected I thought I was going to be in for a busy game, luckily I wasn’t and only had to make two saves at the end.”
After such a big win, Hazard was asked how important is it to take this performance into the rest of the season, given Plymouth are four points off safety in the Championship.
“It was a turning factor when the manager came in. We’re focusing on a game at a time now. I don’t think we can get too far ahead of ourselves,” Hazard continued.
“We got a great result yesterday, it’s a big achievement for the club, it’s part of history but our focus is straight away on Wednesday, it’s an important game coming up and getting us out of the relegation zone.”
Hazard also revealed one member of his family may have not been instantly overjoyed by yesterday’s victory over Liverpool.
“I have to say my Dad is a big Liverpool fan. It was good walking in after the game, I wasn’t sure if he was happy for me or not to be honest. But it’s definitely a day that goes down in my history,” he said.
Hazard’s affection for Muslic is completely warranted, especially after the club endured a rough patch under the previous manager, Manchester United legend Rooney.
During Rooney’s tenure, no team in Championship history had conceded more goals after 23 games of a season than Plymouth, with a staggering 51 shipped by them.
Rooney was let go just seven months into his three-year contract.
But things are looking up for Plymouth now and they will be ball ten in the FA Cup fifth-round draw, which takes place on Monday evening.
