My Heroes

He said: “You see them run out ten yards, block a shot, take it in the you know whats, and you have got to do the same because they lift you and carry you through the game.

“That’s the way you have to look at it. I close down a centre-half and it pushes us up five yards and you work off each other. That’s what’s getting us the points.

“It was a scrappy game for us up front and we did our job the best we could, but the defence was fantastic, the way they were relentless in defending. They put their bodies on the line every time, It was a really, really good performance.”

Key to the victory which kept Argyle top of Sky Bet League 2 was the reprise of last season’s three-man central defence of Curtis Nelson, Carl McHugh and Peter Hartley to deal with the home side’s direct approach.

“Last season would have helped that, obviously,” said Ryan. “They felt comfortable. It wasn’t something that we’d worked on an awful lot but it was just right. I haven’t seen a team play like [Carlisle did] in a while and I think that formation really got us in the right position. The way we dealt with that was fantastic.

“We performed well – not a nice-on-the-eye performance, but we performed well to get three points.”

It is not just for 90 minutes on a Saturday that the Argyle squad pulls together. Ryan believes their off-field chemistry is contributing to this season’s success.

“Every team I’ve been at, we’ve had little cliques – it’s not great,” he said, “but [at Argyle] everyone sits in different tables every meal; we all get on; we all have a personal relationship with each other; it just works, I guess. I think you see, on the pitch, what we’re all about.”

One of the benefits of such togetherness is that everyone keeps everyone else grounded despite the success that the Pilgrims are enjoying, with closest rivals Northampton up next at Home Park on January 12.

“You can’t get carried away, that’s the be all and end all,” said Ryan “We have got to keep working hard. 

“We have got a break now to get our legs back and regroup and go again, but we have got to keep putting in those performances every week.”