Joe Welch has been named St Albans City’s player of the year.

The Saints’ shot-stopper collected the award, sponsored by Harpenden Construction Ltd, after his clean sheet in the final game of the year at Clarence Park, a 1-0 win over Ebbsfleet United.

“To be voted player of the year by the people who pay to watch is a real compliment,” said Welch.

It’s been a stunning season for the goalkeeper, who has made 42 appearances and been named player of the month twice.

“I’ve really enjoyed this season and being busy; it’s given me more things to work on. I’ve really enjoyed myself and hopefully I’ve done exactly what the management wanted me to.”

As first reported in the Herts Ad, Welch and St Albans have opened talks for next season and both sides are keen to get it done.

“I spoke to [James Gray, joint manager] last week and hopefully we can sort something out in the summer,” he said.

For Welch, he wants to be part of a much-improved St Albans team that heads into the next Vanarama Conference South season.

“I think it’s taken a while to adapt to the league. We’ve got a lot of boys who haven’t played in the league before so it took a while to adapt to how we need to play,” he told the Herts Ad.

“It’s taken a while to figure out how to win and see out games. Over last four or six weeks, we’ve conceded fewer goals which shows we’re finally starting to learn how to see games out.”