Plymouth Argyle skipper Carl Fletcher has provided the Pilgrims with a welcome boost following their relegation to League Two by announcing that he will be staying at Home Park for the 2011-12 season.
This represents a major plus for the Argyle faithful who are currently waiting on news regarding the futures of the club's 13 other out-of-contract players and also on the identity of the club's preferred bidder who was selected by Administrator Brendan Guilfoyle.
Fletcher, who has won the club's Player of the Year award for the previous two campaigns, has exercised the option in his contract of extending his two-year stay at Home Park for a further year.
During this time, the Pilgrims have been relegated from the Championship in the 2009-10 season and in the current campaign, they were condemned to a second straight demotion after being deducted ten points for going into Administration in early March.
In his career, Fletcher has won promotion from the level the Pilgrims now find themselves at with AFC Bournemouth in the 2002-03 season when the Cherries defeated Lincoln City in the Division Three Play-Off final at the Millennium Stadium as they bounced back to the Second Division at the first attempt, which is something that Argyle will be aiming to do once the new season starts in August.
