Rangers, Craig Gordon & Tony Watt snub: Ex-Celtic star's team of the season features 6 Celtic, 2 Hearts, 2 Rangers and 1 Hibs player

There are plenty of options for the Scottish Premiership team of the season so far with strong individual performers across the league.

Hearts star Craig Gordon has been one of the best players in the league this season. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group)

Former Celtic and Scotland star Charlie Nicholas has selected his best XI of the current campaign and there are a number of surprises.

Despite Rangers’ six-point lead at the top, only two players from the Scottish champions feature, one of which is Joe Aribo who has been named as the star of the cinch Premiership so far.

"I am not surprised the Nigeria international is starting to attract interest from the English Premier League,” Nicholas said. “He has grown into a player with a real responsibility in this Rangers squad.

"Aribo was excellent in the final three months of last season and has managed to maintain that form into the new campaign while his team-mates Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos went off the boil."

The identity of the other Rangers player is somewhat surprising, Nicholas opting for Calvin Bassey.

The Nigerian has been a revelation at centre-back for the Ibrox side but has played just seven matches in the position, albeit six of those games have resulted in a clean sheet.

Nicholas explained: "This selection might surprise a few people but I like balance at the heart of my defence and Bassey, with his very good left foot, would provide that alongside Souttar. The young Rangers stopper is a big, physical unit and dominant in the air. I think he has been better than Connor Goldson."

One of the most notable omissions is that of Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon. The pundit instead preferred Joe Hart ahead of Dundee United's Benjamin Siegrist, while Tony Watt's form for Motherwell didn't warrant an inclusion.

Nicholas was full of praise for the impact Anthony Ralston has had for Celtic, the right-back being chosen for his performances.

"I wouldn't have given Ralston a prayer of still being in the Celtic team a year or so ago but he has really improved and nailed down the right-back position,” he said.

Nicholas’ XI:

Joe Hart (Celtic)

Anthony Ralston (Celtic)

John Souttar (Hearts)

Calvin Bassey (Rangers)

Stephen Kingsley (Hearts)

Joe Aribo (Rangers)

Callum McGregor (Celtic)

Tom Rogic (Celtic)

Jota (Celtic)

Kyogo Furuhashi (Celtic)

Martin Boyle (Hibs)

Get a year of unlimited access to all The Scotsman's sport coverage without the need for a full subscription. Expert analysis of the biggest games, exclusive interviews, live blogs, transfer news and 70 per cent fewer ads on Scotsman.com - all for less than £1 a week. Subscribe to us today