Wayne Rooney: Plymouth Argyle remain behind ‘driven’ boss, says Argyle chief

But Dewsnip says the club has to be realistic about where they are in the Championship pecking order.

With a capacity of just under 17,500, the Pilgrims have the third-smallest ground in the division and do not benefit from Premier League parachute payments that a number of other sides receive.

“We compete in the Championship, which I think is the fifth-biggest league in the world,” Dewsnip added.

“Over the last few years we’ve come from League Two to where we are, we’ve earned the right to be in the Championship, we want to stay in the Championship.

“We managed to do that last year and this year our aim is still the same – we’d like to do a little bit better than that.”

Argyle survived by one point last season – their first campaign in the second tier since 2010 – thanks to a final-day win over Hull City.

“Wayne talks about how he’d love to be safe with at least four games to go, so that’s kind of where the target will remain until we’ve achieved it,” Dewsnip said.

“But we mustn’t forget we’re in a league that has some really big football clubs, Premier League clubs if we’re really honest.

“We’re competing in the bottom half of that league – you might even argue the bottom half of the bottom half of that league.

“So we have sensible expectations, we know it is a massive challenge, but one that we relish, one that we understand and one that we succeeded in last year and we’re going to succeed again this year.”