Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Rodgers backs Celts for awards
CELTIC manager Brendan Rodgers believes there are potential candidates for the Player of the Year award throughout his Premiership winning team.
PFA Scotland voting forms have been issued to players ahead of the annual awards ceremony and Rodgers expects his men to dominate the nominations.
The likes of Scott Sinclair, Moussa Dembele, Stuart Armstrong and Scott Brown could make it a clean sweep on the four-man shortlist after unbeaten Celtic wrapped up the Premiership title on April 2.
“For me it’s the team,” Rodgers said. “The team collectively have been brilliant, right t he way through.
“And there’s so many of them.You could go through the whole squad, players that have performed consistently at a really high level in big games.”
Rodgers admitted it would be “very unfair” to pick out individuals from his own team but did mention some Aberdeen players.
He added: “I’ve got the best players. The best players are playing f or Celtic.
“There’s some very, very good players I have come across in the league, there’s no doubt about that.
“The likes of young Jonny Hayes at Aberdeen. I know Jonny well.
“I took him across to England when I was at Reading, so I know Jonny very well, and he has been outstanding.
“Niall McGinn and Kenny McLean have been very, very good and Aberdeen rightly are in second place and have consistently been very good.
“They have had some excellent performers i n their team but of course I look at my own.
“I don’t think I would swap any of t hem f or anyone.”