MANAGER Paul Sturrock has warned his Plymouth Argyle players it's his way or the highway from now on.

There's only one commandment to follow, he said – and that's Luggy's Law.

Sturrock (pictured right) insisted no-one should underestimate the seriousness of his threat ahead of his second full Championship season at Home Park.

The Pilgrims boss said, owing to a number of factors, he had been unable to run the club to his satisfaction since rejoining in November 2007, when he replaced then Leicester-bound Ian Holloway.

The Scot added he had been stung by last season's flirtation with relegation to League One.

Statistically, 2008/09, he said, marked an all-time low for him as a manager.

But now with the distraction of a long-running takeover saga behind him, and the backing of the new board of directors, Sturrock said the gloves are off.

The upcoming campaign, said Sturrock, gives him and everybody at the club a fresh start.

He said: "Last season really hurt me because it was the first year when I've lost more games than I've won. I don't like that.

"There were things I did last year that weren't me – things I had to do because of the situation we were in.

"A lot of things that I bit my lip on would have left blood running down the side of my mouth.

"I'm making sure that this year none of that will happen.

"We're going to have discipline and organisation at this football club, like when I was here before.

"At the end of the day, we're going to make sure we're an organised and very, very fit club.

"I've had a meeting with the players where the rules and regulations of this football club were handed to them.

"They'll be taking them home to read and then we'll have a discussion about it.

"We're doing a number of things different this year: we've brought in a psychologist, a fitness trainer and have changed a lot of the job spec of our coaching staff.

"We're going to be a much tighter ship and a more organised ship."

The Scot said, aside from one player who he preferred not to name, the entire squad had returned to Home Park.

"There's one player in negotiations with another football club, but other than that the whole squad's here.

"The other club involved wants it kept quiet and anyway if it doesn't happen, he'll be back very, very quickly."

Sturrock said he had been pleased, but not altogether surprised, by the good condition of his players on their return to pre-season training.

"In this day and age there's not many of them come back out of condition," said Sturrock.

"None of them are outrageous, although there's a couple who need a wee top up and they'll be slapped around in the next few days.

"I'm sure we'll be up to speed a lot quicker than expected."

Sturrock said there had been interest but no firm offers for any of his players.

"We've had several agents acting on behalf of clubs asking me about certain players," he said. "That's as far as it goes with regards to that.

"It's been very difficult to bring in players, because we didn't know what the story with the takeover was.

"But I'm going to have a right chinwag with the new chairman (Sir Roy Gardner) and see what the story is about new players coming in.

"The time frame is vitally important because it was something that hindered us last year.

"Late on we were bringing players in and their fitness levels weren't the best and we were affected by that.

"I would like the players to be here much earlier this year.

"But that's got to go hand in hand with people going out."

Sturrock added: "The transfer season has just started to warm up, but there are still a couple of clubs not back yet, but will be soon.

"I've been doing a lot of phoning to certain managers lately and the picture ought to get clearer soon."

Aberdeen manager Mark McGhee is hoping to step up his pursuit of Argyle defender Jim Paterson.

The Pilgrims signed Paterson from another SPL club, Motherwell – then managed by McGhee – for £250,000 in January 2008.

The 29-year-old made only seven starts in the Championship last season, plus another 10 appearances as a substitute.

McGhee, who admitted last month he would like to take Paterson on a season-long loan, now wants to hold talks with the full-back.

He said: "Jim Paterson is a player we are interested in, but we are waiting to speak to Plymouth again; I'm waiting to hear from Paul Sturrock.

"Stephen Hughes and Jim Paterson are the only two players we are actively trying to bring in at the moment."

Paterson has two years remaining on his Argyle contract.