cinch League One Player of the Month is Kyle Benedictus
Monday, 6th Mar 2023KB: - “The most important thing is to focus on the game tomorrow. It`s nice to get the award but it`s at the back of my mind.
Congratulations to Kyle Benedictus who has been named the cinch League One Player of the Month for February.
The Dunfermline Athletic captain has played every minute of the clubs 26 league matches this season. In February he led the Pars to three wins and one draw including a stunning 4-3 win over Airdrieonians when his penalty conversion sparked off one of the greatest comebacks of the season.
Kyle was pleased to have been recognised with the award, he told the media on Tuesday:-
"It`s nice to pick up any award. It`s special for me and I also need to thank my teammates as well. I couldn`t get it without them. It`s a team effort. It`s the first one I`ve had in a while. I had a couple before when I was younger. It`s the first in a few years, so it`s quite special.”
As we reach the business end of the season Kyle agreed it would be nice to see more SPFL awards coming Dunfermline’s way:-
"There are still 10 games to go, we`ll need to see what happens. The most important thing is to focus on the game tomorrow. It`s nice to get the award but it`s at the back of my mind. We`ve got 10 games left, it`s been a good season so far and it will hopefully get better.
The 31 year old has been the mainstay of the Pars defence. Their two shut outs in February took the sides success rate to 14 out of 25.
Kyle finished the month being credited with Dunfermline’s second goal in the 2-0 win over Queen of the South, one he would later admit should have been recorded as an own goal but in addition to that the central defender has chipped in with six goals this season, five of which have been from the penalty spot.
Manager James McPake felt the award was well overdue:-
“He has been great since he came in. He is great character, a great leader. He showed his character when going up to take a penalty against Airdrie having scored one the week before, missed one in the cup - he doesn’t let it affect him, he still carries on with the game.
“He is everything you want in a captain, he manages the dressing room for you. I’m delighted for him just surprised that it has taken to the end of February before one of our players get it.
“When it is a defender in particular it is more important as a team, great for Bene individually I would not take that away but I think when a defender gets it shows how well the team has done.
“You are not giving this award to a defender unless they are part of a good defensive team. He has been that, the vocal leader of that. He drives people on and gets the best out of people. He knows when to have a go, he knows when to put an arm around people. He takes a lot of work away from me and Dave Mackay.”
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