Waterford FC’s Padraig Amond has won the SSE Airtricity/Soccer Writers Ireland player of the month for July.
Carlow-born Amond maybe one of the older winners of the Player of the Month award. However, he is no stranger to collecting individual football awards.
The 37-year-old, former Shamrock Rovers youths star, won four Ireland U21 caps. Amond was voted Kildare County’s young player of the year before he moved cross-channel.
Amond has played extensively in the UK with Accrington Stanley, Morecambe, Grimsby Town, Hartlepool United, Exeter City and Woking. He also enjoyed his best spell at Newport County making 162 appearances and scoring 41 goals for the Welsh club.
The 37-year-old joined Waterford last season and so far, has netted 26 goals in 61 appearances for the Suirsiders.
Amond topped the nationwide poll on 43 points, eight ahead of last month’s runner-up Dawson Devoy of Bohemians. Jad Hakiki of Sligo Rovers took third place.
“I am loving my football with Waterford” explained Amond. “Every day it is exciting to come into training and work with a good group of players and a good management set-up”.
It’s a really good club to be around and I am loving my time”.
Hope to play until I'm 40
“I chalked up my 800th club career appearance recently but I want to play for as long as possible and as long as I am contributing to the team”.
Amond went on “I feel I am doing well at the moment and I see no reason why I can’t play for another few years up to my 40th birthday".
“I have a plan in place for life after football” the Carlow man explained. “I have my coaching badges up to the ‘A’ licence but I also have a degree in coaching and management so I have options once I retire and something to fall back on.”
The Blues No.9 is looking forward to this weekend’s Sports Direct Men’s FAI Cup third round clash with Cork City at Turner’s Cross. Amond gives his team every chance of making the quarter-finals of the domestic knock-out competition.
“I think every Premier Division team left in the last-16 will fancy their chances especially with what’s on offer and the possibility of European football at the end of it”.
“We have four all-Premier Division ties this weekend and anything can happen in Cup football so it’s something we are looking at here in Waterford”.
“The FAI Cup is a far quicker route to European football than the league but, having said that, we are not treating Cork lightly for a moment,” Amond added.
