After Argyle were promoted to the Championship in 2023 fans were critical of poor decision-making by the club’s hierarchy.
The ill-fated appointment of Ian Foster to succeed Steven Schumacher as head coach in January 2024 almost cost the club its place in the division in its first season.
There was further criticism of the decision to appoint Wayne Rooney as boss in the summer of 2024 after his ill-fated spell at Birmingham City, and the club did not recover from their poor form under him which led to his departure at the end of December that year.
There was also unhappiness at recruitment as the Pilgrims struggled to score goals and a number of attacking signings, such as Michael Baidoo, Rami Al Hajj and Muhamed Tijani, failed to have an impact last season.
“Not every decision has been a good one and I think the club is circumspect about looking at those things and thinking, ‘okay, we could have done this and this differently’,” added Berne, who was named as chief executive in October and took charge in January.
“I’m not going to identify individual things, but I think as a club we try and learn from those things, both as a board and staff who are there every day, and on the footballing side as well.
“We’re stronger because we are learning from the things that have happened to us, both good and bad.
“We had two seasons in the Championship and there was a lot to like there.
“We had some really great games at Home Park, the stadium was full every weekend, of course it’s disappointing to come down, but it was good to have two seasons in the Championship, so we want to get back there really.
“I think the really big challenge though is that football is more and more difficult financially across the board, and it’s not just Argyle that are feeling that.”
