TOM Cleverley hailed his Plymouth Argyle side after they produced arguably their best performance of the season so far to defeat visiting Stockport County 4-2 in Sky Bet League One on Saturday.

In what was a dominant display from start to finish from the Pilgrims, it was little wonder the head coach was quick to speak in glowing terms about his players at the final whistle.

“A brilliant team performance, we manged the game well and I couldn't be prouder of the lads,” said Cleverley. “I just put it on the players today that it was all about performance and doing the things we work on to the best of their ability, and I thought the lads did it fantastically well. They deserve all the credit."

An own goal from Stockport County striker Kyle Wootton and a Caleb Watts shot put the home side two goals in front, before Ollie Norwood replied for the visitors in added-on time at the end of the first half with a controversially-awarded penalty.

After the break, midfielder Bradley Ibrahim bagged his first goal for the club, before striker Lorent Tolaj put them further ahead in the 75th minute. Wotton got one back for County late on, but it was nothing more than a consolation effort.

The victory – Argyle’s second in seven starts – lifted them to 18th in the table and gave them a much-needed boost ahead of this Saturday’s trip to Luton Town.

Cleverley added: “I think that’s four wins in our last five home games. That’s one defeat in five. We knew we were going through a huge transition and it was about us stabilising the football club.

“We have done that and now it’s all about performance. We’ve just got to keep working hard every day, keep focused on doing the things we work on, and I think that will mean we win a lot more football games.”