Plymouth Argyle teammates reveal what it was like to play alongside Bristol Rovers manager Graham Coughlan

The Gas take on the Pilgrims in the FA Cup on Sunday

‘A student of the game’, Bristol Rovers manager Graham Coughlan has seemingly always been destined for management.

The Dubliner leads the Gas into Sunday’s FA Cup second round tie with Plymouth Argyle, where he holds official ‘legend’ status.

Rovers hope to earn a coveted place in the third round for the first time in five years at the Mem, and ahead of the game Coughlan’s contemporaries from his hugely successful four-year stint at Home Park have paid tribute to their former teammate.

The 45-year-old played almost 200 games for the Pilgrims, scoring 26 goals – 11 of which came in the Division Three-winning team of 2001-02 when he was top scorer from centre-half.

Since retirement in 2013, Coughlan has made a natural progression into coaching and management – saving the Gas from the relegation mire after replacing Darrell Clarke 11 months ago.

This season, Rovers have taken a leap forward under Coughlan’s stewardship to become outside League One play-off contenders less than a year after he took the helm.

Coughlan’s success is no surprise to his former teammates in Devon, who believe Rovers are in safe hands with a "winner", "total professional" and "legend" in charge.

Brian McGlinchey played in defence alongside Coughlan as the Greens romped to the Division Three title in 2002 with more than 100 points.

“Graham wasn’t the captain at the time, but he led like a true captain,” the 42-year-old former full-back said. “He came in Paul Sturrock’s second year and he made the difference for the back four.

“He made the team spirit and he got everyone socialising. He was massively into everyone working together although he wasn’t the captain, but he was the true leader.”

Midfielder David Norris, who was part of the team which won promotion to the Championship with Coughlan at the heart of defence in 2004, has a similar recollection of the Irishman.

He told Bristol Live: “He was already there when I arrived, and they’d already won Division Three and he was one of the big characters. It just got better and better for us. They were great times.

“He was a big character, we had him and Paul Wotton at centre-half. Graham was a winner, that’s the biggest thing I could say. He kept standards high and he didn’t like losing games. He could easily have been captain. He was someone you want in your team.”

To McGlinchey, now a commentator for Argyle games on BBC Radio Devon, Coughlan has always been likely to follow this path.

He said: “He was one of the few people in that team I thought would become a manager. He would watch all kinds of football. He’s a real student in the game. He’s the one person I played with that stood out to go into management.

“He was really dedicated and he gave football his all. He’s earned his opportunity at Bristol Rovers, he understands League One and League Two. He deserves that opportunity, he understands what you need to do to get results in that league.

“He loves football. He’d watch any game. His daughter plays and he loves watching her.”

Norris recalled Coughlan’s ‘desire’ has driven him to success throughout his career.

“If he didn’t go into management, he definitely would have been in a coaching role,” he said. “He had his opinions and he loved his football. He would go and watch the youth team games. It’s no surprise he’s gone down that route.

“At Southend he was living quite a way away from his family to be an assistant manager. That says it all about his desire. He’s doing a great job. He’s passionate about what he does.”

The one surprise for his former defensive ally is Coughlan isn’t at the helm at Home Park.

“He always gets a great welcome (at Plymouth). He’s got a great relationship with everyone at the club," McGlinchey said.

“People were probably gutted he didn’t get the job that Ryan Lowe was offered to be honest, but it never materialised.

“A lot of people would have been really happy to see him as the Plymouth manager. He gets the club and he gets the city.

“He’s a total professional. It will go out the window come kick off, but once the game’s finished he will want Plymouth to do well and get promoted.”

Lowe is doing a decent job at Home Park, sitting eighth in the table with four wins in five league games ahead of the visit to the Mem, where Norris is sure Coughlan will be well received by the visiting fans.

Norris, aged 38, said: “At the weekend he will get an unbelievable reception. He played a lot of games and scored a lot of goals from defence. The fans love him down there. He’s a legend.”

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