RICHARD Eckersley turned in a man-of-the-match performance on his Argyle debut.

Right-back Eckersley was Match Sponsors Sita UK's choice as top Pilgrim in the 1-1 Home Park draw against Preston North End, having completed his loan move from Burnley on the morning of the match.

He also earned praise from Argyle head coach Paul Mariner, who said: ""You can see he likes to defend; he's got pace; he is strong in the tackle; and his distribution is excellent."

Mariner also conceded that the former Manchester United player is on a steep learning-curve.

"He needs to get to know the league," said Paul, "[after] the education he's had at Manchester United, where they play, for want of a better expression, total football, building from the back, playing one-twos, and getting it out from the defending third.

"You can't do that in the Championship and you can't do it on our field, so there was a slight adjustment Richard had to make.

"I thought he did it, piece of cake. He looks as though he's going help us to keep some clean sheets."