Luke Wilson has been named the Championship Player of the Month for December by the Northern Ireland Football Writers’ Association.

Wilson and his Ports team-mates were sent crashing out of the Irish Cup at the first hurdle after a dramatic penalty shootout defeat to Glentoran but continue to lead the way in the Championship.

Matthew Tipton’s men are on course for a return to the top flight and Wilson played a key role in ensuring they continued to top the pile last month.

He said: “We had a few difficult fixtures in December but we remained top of the table and that was the priority.

“We had to show a lot of fighting spirit as well as quality in the month and together with amazing supporters we believe we have what it takes to go up this season.

“To captain my hometown club is great and I am so happy to win this award but that wouldn’t be possible without my team-mates.”