Former Aberdeen captain Darren Young shrugged off the disappointment of losing in the Scottish Cup to pick up his first manager of the month award with Albion Rovers.
The player-manager took the League 2 award after remaining undefeated throughout November.
Their fourth game of last month was a 1-1 draw with Berwick Rangers in the cup, with the Borderers winning through to face Spartans after a 1-0 replay success on Tuesday night.
Young, who took charge at Cliftonhill in June as a replacement for James Ward, said: “I am disappointed with the defeat and to be out of the cup but delighted with this accolade.
“I got one young player of the month award with the Dons in 1996 or 1997 so I must be doing something right if I have picked this up in my first six months in management.
“We went on a run of nine games unbeaten and November was a great month for us. I’ve got to give a thank you to everybody at the club who have helped with the transition of still playing but becoming a manager.”
Young, who played more than 130 matches for the Dons and won seven Scotland under-21 caps, also praised a former Dons coach, Tommy Craig, who helped him launch his professional career nearly 20 years ago.
Craig lost his job as St Mirren manager this week and Young said: “I feel for Tommy this week. It’s sad. He’s a great coach and a good guy but it happens all the time. It’s just the way of the world and it will be the same for me if we don’t win as well.
“I have remembered things he did when I was 16 or 17 at Aberdeen and have used things like that to help try to improve myself and make the players better.”
Young reckons the Paisley club’s board and the one at Motherwell’s Fir Park, where the manager’s job vacated by Stuart McCall remains vacant, should consider bringing in fresh Scottish talent.
The 36-year-old said: “The likes of Stephen Aitken and Ian Murray have got their badges and are working their way up from the bottom. They know the Scottish game inside out.
“It is good to have different ideas and experiences from coaches and managers from abroad but we know our own game. A lot of foreign coaches come to Largs to do their badges so do we need to look abroad? I don’t know if we do.”