Larne midfielder John Herron is November’s NIFWA Danske Bank Premiership Player of the Month.

The former Celtic and Blackpool man helped Larne finish the month unbeaten as they climbed to the top of the division.
Herron said, “I would like to thank the Football Writers’ for selecting me for this award, however I also have to thank my teammates. You only win individual awards if you’re playing in a good team, and I’m one of those players who is lucky enough to be playing in a great team.

“So, while this an individual award, our success is the result of a team effort.”

In November, Larne claimed three famous wins, defeating Crusaders, Cliftonville and Coleraine. Their success rolled into December, when they marked the new month by winning the County Antrim Shield, their first trophy in 33 years.

Ex-Glentoran man Herron believes the secret to Larne’s success is their full-time set-up.

“We get one day off a week and we thoroughly deserve that day off because we knock our pan in at training every other day.

“Everything we do on the training pitch is monitored and if we don’t hit certain levels, we have stay behind until we hit our targets. The professionalism matches anything I have seen in England or Scotland.

“I didn’t know an awful lot about the Irish League until I joined Glentoran. I have impressed by the standard, there are a lot of good players here. That’s why more players are getting moves to clubs across the water. Hopefully more teams turn professional and push the standard on even further.”

November’s runner-up was Glentoran forward Jay Donnelly, with Dungannon Swifts defender Dougie Wilson in third.