THE 5 BIGGEST PLAYER AND YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD SNUBS

DYLAN MCGEOUCH (FOR PLAYER OF YEAR)

1 Fellow pros love John Mcginn. That’s two years in a row where the Hibs midfielder has been nominated for the top individual award in his division (last season it was the Championship, this term the Premiership) without winning the award for his own club. While there’s an overall Mcginn v Mcgeouch debate to be had, the general consensus this term seems to be that Mcgeouch had the stronger campaign so it’s harsh to see him omitted in favour of his team-mate.

KIERAN TIERNEY (FOR PLAYER OF YEAR)

2 James Forrest seemed a certainty for a nod just a couple of months ago, but he’s been very quiet since his hattrick against Partick Thistle in early February. Celtic deserve two players in the final list because, despite their faults, they’ve still been easily the best team this season. However, are we so sure that Forrest is definitely the second best player overall? Perhaps Tierney, with his greater consistency of performance, would have been deserving instead.

CHRISTOPHE BERRA (FOR PLAYER OF YEAR)

3 A few months ago, this writer wrote an article saying that, at the time, Berra was the leader for Player of the Year. And, at the time, it was probably true. However, since then Hearts have failed to maintain their form while Berra, pretty much flawless until then, has made a few errors which have led to goals. But he still maybe should have been recognised with a nomination, what with Hearts holding the second best defence in the league despite having a fairly poor squad apart from their captain.

OLIVIER NTCHAM (FOR YOUNG PLAYER OF YEAR)

4 Lewis Morgan has certainly generated more headlines this year than his soon-to-be Celtic training mate, but can you justify someone from a lower tier grabbing a nomination ahead of another talented youngster in the league above? Ntcham, pictured, may have had matches where he’s gone missing, but he’s also had games where he’s dominated the midfield and is widely viewed as being a member of Celtic’s strongest starting XI. We can’t assume the same about Morgan.

GREG DOCHERTY (FOR YOUNG PLAYER OF YEAR)

5 It could well be the case that moving to Rangers has actually hurt Docherty’s Young Player of the Year candidacy. At Hamilton he was the star man, leading the club towards another season of defying the critics and naysayers to remain in the top flight. While he received praise for his play after initially signing on at Ibrox, his overall contribution to the campaign has been lost in the circus surrounding the club.