WILL Evans believes Plymouth Argyle are a “sleeping giant” – and the new Pilgrims striker is relishing the chance to lead the line as they target promotion back to the Championship.

The 29-year-old has barely had time to catch his breath since arriving at Home Park, but his first taste of life in Green could hardly have gone better.

After moving his family to the far South West, meeting his new team-mates and getting to grips with Tom Cleverley’s plans, Evans was thrown straight into a Devon derby against Exeter City.

And he helped Argyle make the perfect competitive start, playing the full 90 minutes as the Pilgrims secured a 2-0 Carabao Cup first-round victory in front of a raucous Home Park crowd.

Now, with Stockport County arriving for today’s League One opener, Evans is convinced he has joined a club capable of achieving something special.

“I said it when I signed, it’s a bit of a sleeping giant,” said Evans. “Everyone I spoke to when I heard the interest, not a bad word was said about the club from players. One of my mates who I went to uni with is a die-hard Argyle fan. He used to bang on about them. He would just say how big the club was.

“I always thought it was a bit of a sleeping giant but when you come down here you really see the size of the club and how much it means to people.”

That responsibility has only increased after Evans inherited the number nine shirt vacated by Lorent Tolaj following his £4 million move to Championship club Bristol City.

But it is a challenge the Welshman is embracing.

“It’s a massive honour,” he said. “It’s a massive club and with that comes pressure and a little bit of expectation, but one that I’m ready to take on and know that I can live up to.”

Evans’ arrival represents another significant step in an unusual football journey.

A member of a farming family in mid-Wales, he studied at Cardiff Metropolitan University and did not turn professional until he joined Newport County at the age of 24. He is now entering only his fifth season as a professional – but insists his late start has done nothing to diminish his hunger.

“As much as you might say I’m an experienced striker, I’m only going into my fifth year as a professional footballer,” he said. “I’ve still got that desire and want to learn, I want to improve. It’s the type of bloke I am. I don’t want to take an easy route, I want to better myself.”

Evans admits he could have marked his Argyle debut with a goal or two after wasting opportunities against Exeter, including firing over after intercepting a stray back-pass.

However, he is not worried.

“I know at least one, maybe two, of those chances should be hitting the back of the net,” he said. “They will come. I’m not too worried about that, I know the goals will come. I will never let anyone question my workrate and what I give for the team. I wanted to make a bit of a statement to say that I’m not a pushover, I have not come down here to have a jolly up.”

The Devon derby also gave Evans an instant education in the passion surrounding Argyle.

With the game broadcast live on Sky Sports, friends and family were able to watch from afar – and immediately asked whether Home Park was really as loud as it sounded.

“I just said, ‘Yeah, it was probably triple, quadruple that’,” Evans said. “In a Devon derby, first competitive game of the season, I don’t think there is much better ways to introduce myself. I got a real taste for it.”

And with the League One campaign now upon them, Evans says the mood inside the Argyle camp is one of genuine excitement.

“Everyone has a role, everyone has a responsibility, everyone knows what we need to do to win the game,” he said. “I would say excitement, nothing less than that.”