Albion Rovers player of the year on key factor in award win

Albion Rovers defender admits his desire to prove a point to boss Brian Reid is behind his player of the year prize.

The 21-year-old - who has been at the club for almost four years - has been a standout for the Cliftonhill club this term, despite their struggles at the bottom end of League Two.

And that didn't go unnoticed as he picked up the club's top prize at their annual awards night on Saturday, following a 1-0 win at Cowdenbeath.

Fagan made 41 outings as Rovers finished eighth in League Two and he believes he was rewarded for his consistency - after making his gaffer take notice of his displays.

He said: “Towards the end of last season I wasn’t really in the team and this year I had something to prove to the manager.

“I feel I’ve kicked on, I’ve been cutting out the silly mistakes and doing the basics right.

“I’ve been more consistent and playing with more experienced guys has helped.

"I missed the first couple of games through injury, but after that I've played every game apart from one I missed because of suspension.

"Playing games all the time is what you want at my age to try and get myself out there.

"It has been a good season for me personally but as a team we’ve underachieved.

“With the squad we have we should have been higher up.

"We've been hit with a lot of injuries. I think we are the unluckiest team in the league for that.

"The team has been chopping and changing.

"The time we had a solid back four and the same goalie, we went on a good run but other than that, there was a lot of injuries, so it shows the difference that makes."

Rovers will look to tie down their key men for next season now the dust has settled on the 2021/22 campaign.

Asked if he will be staying in Coatbridge, Fagan added: "I'm not