Matt Cardle has admitted that he has a huge amount of respect for X Factor boyband, One Direction.

The 27 year old singer took the X Factor by storm this series and eventually won the show last Sunday, with One Direction finishing in third place.

Speaking about the One D. boys – Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson,  Zayn Malik and Niall Horan, Matt told OK:

“They’re just wicked. They’re all so cool and so funny individually.”

He added: “They’ve definitely got something special. It’s just mad how they got thrown together and then they were like five best mates.

“You wouldn’t think to hang out with them that they didn’t know each other until boot camp. Even at boot camp they weren’t five close mates, they were literally picked in the line-up.”

And Matt says the boys will do well in their music career, because they are so hard working.

Matt continued:

“They work so hard. They rehearsed every night. Every spare minute they got they were singing together, working out harmonies.”

“They will absolutely fly. I can’t wait to see it happen because they really, really deserve it.”