 Under McGrath's successor, Les Chapman, he made his first team debut at the age of 18 in a 1–0 home win against Shrewsbury Town in March 1991.Having broken into the first team, Cartwright remained a regular for the rest of the season.In the following season, 1991–92, he missed only a handful of matches as he picked up the club's player of the year award as reward for a string of consistently good displays.