WHILE banging in the goals has been a source of personal pride for Nathan Cartman this season, the striker admits putting smiles on the faces of the Darlington fans has been equally satisfying.

Back in January 2015, Cartman became the first player ever to be sold by Harrogate Railway for an undisclosed fee when he joined Darlington – then an Evo-Stik First Division North club.

Six months later he was celebrating promotion, while this year has proved even more successful as his 19 goals helped the Quakers to the Evo-Stik Northern Premier title after accruing 104 points.

On Wednesday, his efforts were recognised when he was named the SK Kits Step Three and Four Player of the Year at The Non-League Paper’s National Game Awards, held at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge.

And after admitting that he took a while to find his feet, Cartman was delighted to be able to repay the fans’ faith in him.

“It’s great to be named as Player of the Year," he said. "I’d like to thank those who nominated me for the shortlist and then the fans who have then again nominated me for Player of the Year.

“I’ve enjoyed the last 15 months at Darlington. For the last 23 days, we played nine games – Tuesday, Friday, Saturday – and I think we won every game and then obviously won the league.

“The club has got a great fan base. I had a bit of a sticky start when I first signed but I’ve come past that now and hopefully I’ve made a lot of the fans happy and sent them home happy. It’s nice to show that I have that character and belief in myself to show the fans what I can do.

“I was happy at Harrogate. It’s a great club, great people, a lot of my best friends play there. But I had a lot of clubs sniffing around last season when I scored a few goals. And Darlington was one that really pushed hard to get me in.”

Darlington will be hoping Cartman can keep up his rich form in front of goal when they step up a level next season.

And the striker believes that, with a few key additions to the squad over the summer, they can aim high again.

“I’m sure our gaffer will be saying we’ll be up there in the play-offs again next year trying to get promotion,” he said.

“I think the recruitment is key, bringing in the right players. I think we can go back to where they belong, especially the Conference, and then we’ll see where we can go from there.”

* SCL Education and Training are a government approved post-16 education provider in the sports and active leisure sector with an Ofsted Grade 2 “Good” rating. SCL have educated over 15,000 young adults through Academy partnerships with over 70 football, rugby and cricket, professional and non-league sports clubs, foundations and community trusts. To find out more visit www.weareascl.co.uk.