He returned to Scotland 12 months later to play for St Mirren, helping the club to the Scottish Championship title at the end of the 2017–18 season.
[6] Eckersley then went on loan to the Belgian Second Division club Royal Antwerp in January 2006, to gain further first-team match experience.
Eckersley was linked with a move to NEC of the Netherlands as a replacement for Jeffrey Leiwakabessy in April 2006,[7] but instead he was loaned out to Brøndby in August 2006.
[9] He was promoted to the first-team squad as cover for the injured Mikaël Silvestre at the start of the 2007–08 season, before moving to Port Vale on a month-long loan on 12 October 2007.
[12] Eckersley scored his first goal in English football and his first anywhere since a loan spell at Royal Antwerp in a 2–2 home draw with Yeovil Town on 29 January 2008,[13] but he soon left the club when his contract expired at the end of the 2007–08 campaign,[14] following Port Vale's relegation to League Two.
[16] The "Yellow Danger" were relegated at the end of 2008–09, after manager Kent Nielsen resigned and short-term replacement Henrik Jensen failed to spark a revival; Horsens finished four points behind the safety of SønderjyskE.
In the summer of 2010, Eckersley moved to AGF Aarhus, manager Peter Sørensen intending him to replace Dennis Cagara.
[17] After some consistently great performances for AGF as attacking left-back and a tremendous first half-season in the Danish Superliga, including a stunning free-kick goal against Lyngby in round 13, he was selected for Les Rosbifs 'Team of the Year 2011' for best Englishmen playing overseas.
[26] He was a regular first-team player under manager Robbie Neilson, and helped Hearts to win promotion as champions in the 2014–15 campaign.
[34] He made 15 appearances for Jack Ross's "Buddies" in the second half of the 2016–17 campaign, including one in the final of the Scottish Challenge Cup at Fir Park, which ended in a 2–1 defeat to Dundee United.
In January 2019, manager Oran Kearney agreed to allow him to join Scottish League One side Forfar Athletic on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season.
[41] A change of circumstances meant that this arrangement was cancelled by mutual agreement, and Eckersley instead signed for League One rivals Airdrieonians.