Sam Foley insists he’s more used to taking one for the team than picking up an individual prize for himself.
The influential midfielder beat fellow Buddies Vaclav Hladky, Jon Obika and Ryan Flynn to pick up the PDE St Mirren player of the year award, as voted for by the fans.
He received an impressive 55 per cent of the total vote, sweeping to victory ahead of his fellow shortlisted teammates that were picked in collaboration with manager Jim Goodwin and former striker Steven Thompson.
Goalkeeper Hladky came in second place with 21 per cent, ahead of Flynn and Obika who picked up 13 and 11 per cent respectively.
Speaking from his home in Crewe, Foley paid tribute to the Saints faithful who have taken him to their hearts after a successful maiden season in Paisley.
He said: “The humble side of me says I’m surprised I won it because my contribution to the team isn’t anything outstanding.
“There isn’t an X factor to my game in terms of a lot of goals or big saves.
“I’ve won a few awards throughout my career though and I see them as a reward for hard work on and off the pitch.
“When you get to my age it’s about a love of the job and football is my trade. You need to have a willingness and desire to work hard.
“There’s no secret to professionalism. You just need to work hard to be the best that you can be.
“I’m very grateful to the club for giving me the opportunity to come and play here and also to the fans for picking me out.
“I wouldn’t have been recognised at all if it wasn’t for my teammates too. I’m normally taking one for the team on the pitch, but it is nice to be recognised like this.”
Foley enjoyed a stellar first campaign in the stripes after joining Goodwin’s side from Northampton Town last summer.
The composed 33-year-old played 31 games in all competitions, picking up two goals in the process including a memorable late winner against Ross County in November.
The Englishman donned the armband after Kyle Magennis suffered a season-ending cruciate knee injury, and he led the side with aplomb from both the centre of midfield and when he dropped back into defence later in the campaign.
Foley can’t wait to get back into action for St Mirren once the game gets back up and running in Scotland.
He added: “Throughout my career I have played for a lot of different clubs but the constant for me has always been that I give it my best shot.
“I’ve made some big decisions and I never knew if they’d definitely work out or not but the move to St Mirren has been brilliant.
“There’s plenty of former players have asked me about what’s good about playing up in Scotland but the honest answer is that I just really enjoy it.
“It’s all about the passion of the fans and how much it means to everyone. I just can’t wait to get back playing again with the boys.”
