By BBC Spotlight's Phil Tuckett and Dave Gibbins

Changes in personnel at Plymouth Argyle have come thick and fast over the past year, but goalkeeper Romain Larrieu is still a permanent fixture at the club.

The 32-year-old Frenchman first signed for the Pilgrims in 2000 and is now the longest serving player at Home Park.

The 2009/2010 season will see Larrieu take on the role of club captain with the Pilgrims.

And Larrieu told BBC Spotlight: "It's such an honour for me to be playing in that role for Plymouth Argyle."

He added: "Plymouth is a club that means so much to me."

Larrieu was instrumental in Argyle's rise from Division Three to the Championship between 2001 and 2004, being named in the PFA Division Three team of the year in 2002.

The club has always been there for me and I've always been there for the club Romain Larrieu

But the goalkeeper's spell at Plymouth has not always been plain sailing, with personal problems hampering his progress on the field.

In 2006, Larrieu was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which he subsequently overcame, but his appearances were limited and he went on loan to Gillingham in 2007.

The disease returned in January 2008 and, once again, Larrieu battled back to health.

The Argyle captain added: "Moving to Gillingham in 2007 helped me a lot. It gave me a breath of fresh air because it wasn't the best time in my career with illness.

"It allowed me to get my head out of Plymouth and start to rebuild my career because that's how low I felt at the time."

The Frenchman said the support he has received from his employers during the past three years has been invaluable.

"The club has always been there for me and I've always been there for the club as well but that's just part of the relationship," said Larrieu.

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"Eight-and-a-half years is such a long time in football today and you don't get many players who can say that.

"Coming from a foreign country, it's something I'm very proud of."

Looking to the future, Larrieu is still as determined as ever to continue his high standards in goal and hold on to the Pilgrims' No1 shirt.

He added: "Ever since I've been here I've been trying to work as hard as I can to get in the first team and it's worked pretty well.

"Plymouth is a good place to be with an ambitious board so I'm not ready to move now."

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