Blair Yule is happy to be part of another Cove Rangers awards double but sees it as a reflection of the team’s success, rather than his own.
Yule, alongside manager Paul Hartley, have won December’s awards for League One, making it back-to-back clean sweeps of the monthly honours for Cove.
It is the first time Yule has picked up the award. His team-mates Mitch Megginson and Rory McAllister have already won it this season and Yule makes it three months in a row a Cove player has been the recipient.
“I’m happy to have won it, it’s a nice personal reward, but without the rest of the team these awards don’t really exist,” said Yule.
“The fact that Paul (Hartley) has got another award, I think that reflects how well the whole team is performing.
“You’ve definitely got to look to your team-mates for these kind of things. When Rory and Mitch won it recently, they were exactly the same.
“Although they’re scoring a lot of goals, it’s the team who as a collective get the three points, clean sheets and put us where we are at the minute.”
Their win over Clyde last weekend put them seven points clear at the top of the division, ahead of a visit from second-placed Montrose on Saturday.
A win over the Gable Endies and a 10-point cushion at this stage would be an increasingly strong position, particularly given how cut-throat League One has been.
But Yule and his Cove colleagues will not allow themselves to be comfortable.
“Although we’re on a good run at the minute, we can’t afford to get complacent. We need to be switched on and ensure that run continues,” he said. “It’s an important game on Saturday but we’ll treat it as we have for any other game.
“Since I’ve been at Cove, a lot of the seasons I’ve played in we’ve spent quite a while at the top of the league. A lot of us are quite experienced at being in this position and we can’t take any game for granted.
“You look at the East Fife game the other week. It was top-v-bottom but they gave us a good game.
“Montrose haven’t surprised me. I think they’re one of the best sides at playing football in the league; they’re a good side and we’re well aware of what they can do.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a make-or-break game but there’s a nice cushion between us at the minute and we’d like to keep that, as a minimum, or go and win the game.
“In this league, if you go on a run of games you can catapult yourself up no problem.”
Yule has been an ever-dependable figure at the Balmoral Stadium this season, filling in a number of roles where required by Hartley either in defence or midfield.
“If there’s a role that needs to be carried out to contribute towards getting three points, or just helping the team, it’s just something you’ve got to do,” he added.
“I think the move to three at the back has worked really well. The players are certainly enjoying the slight shift and I think we’re seeing rewards from that with our attacking style and passing game.”