PLYMOUTH Argyle manager Miron Muslic has heaped praise on his players for their determination and resilience after securing a vital 2-1 victory over Norwich City in their Sky Bet Championship relegation battle on Saturday.

The win at Home Park, courtesy of a first half brace from striker Ryan Hardie, provided a massive boost to Argyle’s survival hopes with just six games of the season remaining.

Ahead of a game Muslic described as ‘must-win’ for his team, they did not disappoint at Home Park. Hardie edged Argyle in front, albeit against the run on play, on 24 minutes, before doubling his tally when he curled in a second beyond Angus Gunn in the visitors’ goal.

The second half was not even a minute old when the Canaries reduced the arrears, Josh Sargent provided a slick finish at the far post to reduce the deficit.

Argyle, though, were not to be denied and they held on valiantly for the remainder of the half to secure the victory, which leaves them just four points adrift of safety.

“Finally, we could reward ourselves,” said the Argyle head coach. “The pressure was on anyway, we knew the importance of the game and we knew also our situation without speaking too much and too long.

“We knew we just had to win. I mentioned in my last speech in the locker room that it’s about sacrifice, to give it our all. For us, it’s a step forward, we refuse to give up, we are still alive and we will keep on going.”

Next up for Argyle is Wednesday’s trip to Swansea City (7.45pm), before high-flying Sheffield United visit Home Park on Saturday (3pm).

Muslic will need to assess the fitness of defender Nikola Katic ahead of those games, the imposing Bosnian was forced off against Norwich with concerns over a hamstring issue.