PILGRIMS' manager Paul Sturrock has challenged Krisztián Timár to put a frustrating 2008-09 Coca-Cola Championship campaign behind him and win back his place in the heart of the Argyle defence.

Luggy wants his Hungarian international centre-back to forget about last season, when he was in the starting 11 for around a quarter of the Pilgrims' matches, and look only forward.

Kris's 2008-09 was in stark contrast to the previous season, his first full Argyle campaign, when only two Pilgrims made more starts than 'the Beast' and when his form won him the Player of the Season award from the Green Army.

Luggy said: "The challenge for Kris now is to put all his energies into focusing on the opening day of next season and winning his place back."

A serious head injury in the final game of the 2007-08 campaign at Wolves - which required major surgery and the placing of a metal plate in his skull - disrupted 29-year-old Kris's close-season and hampered his preparations for 2008-09.

Although the Budapest-born Magyar began the season in the middle of the Pilgrims' back-four, he lost his place to Manchester United loan signing Craig Cathcart after being sent off against Norwich City at Home Park, and played irregularly after that.

Luggy said: "Kris has had an unfortunate time with some things that were out of his control.

"The injury coming when he had just enjoyed the season of his life was an example of football biting you in the backside.

"Then he was sent off and so was suspended when we won 2-1 at Watford, a victory which set us off on a good run that made it difficult for me to make changes.

"The form of Marcel Seip and Craig Cathcart - the Young Player of the Season - meant they kept the shirts."

Another piece of misfortune for Kris occurred later in the season, when Cathcart was injured at Blackpool.

Despite having been a substitute throughout much of the campaign, Kris was not on the bench at Bloomfield Road and Cathcart's replacement, Chris Barker, turned in a performance that saw him retained at centre-back for the final few games.

Luggy said: "That's football. There was probably no-one in the dressing-room who wanted last season to end more than Kris, and probably no-one looking forward to next year more than him.

"The past is the past. When the players come back for next season, all the shirts are up for grabs."