Hearts should dominate Scottish football award shortlists as key Celtic and Rangers men put in shade
The main men who should be in the running for Scottish football’s prizes
Three points separating three teams with just five games to go. This Premiership title race between Hearts, Rangers and Celtic is the most compelling for a generation.
This unique season is also likely to shake up the status quo when it comes to the end-of-season awards, whether it is the PFA Scotland gongs or those from the Football Writers. So often it is players from the Old Firm who dominate the shortlists. Some may not even nominate a representative from Glasgow this time around.
The emergence of Hearts as serious title challengers - they go into the split one point ahead of Rangers and three clear of champions Celtic - means they will surely have a heavy presence when the votes are cast in the next few weeks. But there are other top-flight teams to consider as well amid a drop-off in standards from the Old Firm.
Not least Motherwell, currently in fourth place, who have been a breath of fresh air this season. And indeed Falkirk, who made the top six with two games to spare and are in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup. Further down the division, St Mirren merit mention, given they won the Premier Sports Cup and are also in the last four of our national competition.
Outside of the Premiership, there have been success stories at St Johnstone, Partick Thistle, Stenhousemuir, East Kilbride and Spartans - and more.
The Scotsman picks out its runners and riders for the three major awards in the men’s game:
Manager of the year
Derek McInnes has turned Hearts from a bottom-six team to title challengers. They have not lost at home this season and the experienced head coach has knitted together foreign recruits served up to him by Jamestown Analytics and seasoned, experienced Scottish Premiership players. The end product has been tremendous.
Whether Hearts go on to win the league or not, McInnes is one of the frontrunners for manager of the year. What he has achieved at Tynecastle could go down in legend. He has been front and centre of serious disruption to the fabric of Scottish football.
To a lesser extent, the same could be said for Motherwell’s head coach Jens Berthel Askou. The unheralded Dane washed up on these shores as an unknown quantity but has made a real impact at Fir Park.
At one point Motherwell were also being talked about title contenders, although their form has tailed off slightly in the past few weeks. They are currently fourth and have a good chance of qualifying for Europe.
Askou has transformed the way Motherwell play. Controlled yet brave on the ball, they are fun to watch and have a clear identity. He has also adapted and enhanced many of the squad he inherited. That is a true sign of a good coach.
Falkirk’s John McGlynn should also be in the mix. The Bairns have taken to the top flight pretty seamlessly following promotion and are another team that play with little fear and a clear style. They could go on and lift the Scottish Cup; no matter, McGlynn has reinforced his position as one of Scottish football’s wiliest operators.
Stephen Robinson, now at Aberdeen, gets an honourable mention for guiding St Mirren to the Premier Sports Cup final earlier in the season, as do Mark Wilson in his first year as a manager at Partick in the Championship and Stenhousemuir’s Gary Naysmith in the League One title race. But the final spot on our shortlist goes to one of the Old Firm. Danny Rohl (Rangers) and Martin O’Neill (Celtic) did not the start the season in their current roles - but they could end it with silverware.
Veteran boss O’Neill has been called upon by the Celtic hierarchy not once but twice this campaign to perform serious firefighting duties at a smouldering Parkhead. The club is addled by disharmony and the 74-year-old, out of the game since 2019, deserves enormous credit for keeping the team in the hunt. Nevertheless, they have spluttered towards the the finishing line. Right now, Rohl pips him.
That is because the German took over an unwholly mess from Russell Martin back in October and has transformed Rangers into a genuine threat. Many have them as the favourites for the title and they certainly looked like champions when beating Falkirk 6-3 last weekend.
Rohl’s impact on Rangers cannot be overstated. He gets the final spot on our four-man shortlist.
Player of the year
Hearts ought to have a big say in this category. You could nominate several but we’ll put forward two.
Claudio Braga, a summer signing from Aalesunds, has scored 14 league goals in 33 appearances and has been effective as a No 9, a wide forward and a deep-lying playmaker. He has stayed fit for the whole campaign and scored crucial goals to keep the Jam Tarts top of the pile.
The 26-year-old forward will be hard to displace.
The other nomination from Tynecastle goes to midfielder Cammy Devlin - even if he missed two months of the season due to injury. His tenacity and aggressiveness drove Hearts on in the first part of the season and he was the stand-out in his discipline.
Honourable mentions go to left-back Harry Milne, centre-half Craig Halkett, winger Alexandros Kyziridis and striker Lawrence Shankland.
Motherwell could also legitimately put forward a couple of players but we’ll stick with one: Tawanda Maswanhise. The Zimbabwean is the league’s top scorer with 17 strikes and his pace and composure make him one of the league’s most proficient strikers.
Fellow forward Eli Just and playmaker Elliot Watt also have claims - but Maswanhise edges it.
Now for the final spot. It’s a straight fight between Celtic midfielder Benjamin Nygren (15 goals) and Rangers striker Youssef Chermiti (11 goals). The latter was a £9 million signing and doesn’t do it every week, while Nygren - a snip at £1.5m - has scored in an at times offensively challenged Celtic team. He gets in.
Young player of the year
Slightly slimmer picking for this one, with a paucity of young Scottish players shining across the game this term.
To qualify, you must be born after January 1, 2004. In this category, there are two obvious choices in Dundee’s 22-year-old defender Luke Graham and Falkirk striker Barney Stewart (also 22). Graham is on the radar of Rangers and Stewart has scored eight league goals for the Bairns this season since returning on loan from Dunfermline.
Findlay Curtis has burst on to the scene since leaving Rangers for Kilmarnock on loan in February, winning his first Scotland cap last month. The 19-year-old absolutely deserves to be in the conversation.
Livingston’s on-loan Hearts midfielder Macaulay Tait (20) has done well in a relegation-threatened team and also lands a vote.
A nod, also, to two players doing well in the Championship in Dunfermline centre-half Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen and Partick midfielder Ben Stanway.
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