Cardle faces hol of a delay for award

Joe Cardle has been voted cinch League Two Player of the Season – but he’ll have to wait for the award. The trophy was posted out to Portugal where the Kelty Hearts winger was on holiday at his father-inlaw’s apartment but has been delayed at customs.

Cardle has now returned home to prepare for the new season and is hoping it is not too long before the trophy catches up.

“It’s been a bit of nightmare. It’s sitting in customs in Portugal and it’s going to be sent on to my father-in-law who’s currently out in the Algarve and then hopefully he can bring it back,” he said.

“It’s obviously frustrating but I’m absolutely delighted to have won the award and I’m sure I’ll get it soon.

“The reason why I went to Kelty was to try and get them up the league. The priority was obviously to win the title and the season could hardly have gone any better. To win the PFA award was amazing and to get the cinch award is another massive achievement for me. It’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my career.”

Cardle was an integral part in Kelty’s romp to the League Two title and, with the club homing in on a new manager after the departure of Kevin Thomson, League One is a fresh challenge.

“The pressure was on us from the get-go last season as everyone had us as favourites with the budget we had and the backing the club has had for the last few years. But it takes a lot more than money – the club has managed to recruit well and get good players in and good characters,” he continued.

“It’s not been all plain sailing as we’ve been up against some tough teams. But we managed to get the job done pretty early and that’s all down to the people involved at the club.

“I’ve been in a few dressing-rooms where we’ve won things and we had that mindset from the get-go where we wanted to win week-in, week-out and it has worked well.

“Unfortunately, the manager has gone now but we need to look to the future. We still don’t know who our manager will be but hopefully the decision will be made this week.

“We don’t start preseason for another couple of weeks and then we need to look forward to League One and hopefully challenging for the title again.

“We’ve managed to have quite a decent break because we wrapped up the league so early but I’ve been speaking to a few of my team-mates and they’re all looking forward to getting started again. Hopefully, we can start the new season the way we finished last season.

“I’ve kept myself fit over the close season. I had three or four days off when we finished but I’ve been at it every day, even on holiday. I like to do something every morning and I enjoy keeping myself fit but I’m looking forward to getting back with the team.

“It was great to win the league and get a couple of personal awards as well but that’s in the past now. My mind’s on next season.”