SCOTLAND'S players' Player of the Year will be announced at the Thistle Hotel in Glasgow tonight but for me there can be only one choice.

In my opinion, Virgil van Dijk is quite simply the quality player in the SPFL Premiership right now. The Celtic centre-half is a colossus.

He is the best player in the league with the best attributes. Think about him striding forward, with pace, mobility and presence. He is really good on the ball for a centre-half, and hits some great free-kicks. You always try to look for a negative when it comes to assessing players, but I have to say I can't find any with the Dutchman.

Quality players sometimes can go through the motions and maybe there were one or two games around January where this was the case but in general Van Dijk has kept his standards up. I can't remember him making too many blunders. He is the one guy in the top flight right now who could go down south, and if not take it by storm, then definitely fit in comfortably.

While his club-mate Stefan Johansen also deserves to be on the list of nominees because he has been so consistent all season long, I think Adam Rooney is Van Dijk's closest competition. Even when he is not playing well he works hard, and he consistently scores goals.

As for the Young Player of the Year, I wish it could be a joint award. Of course you can understand Jason Denayer being shortlisted. It is scary to think he is still only 19. He is quick, strong and aggressive though whether he can go back to Manchester City and make an impact remains to be seen. His lack of inches might count against him.

The boys at Hearts - Jamie Walker and Sam Nicholson - are top players. Take nothing away from Hearts but to get that award I think you need to play at the top level against all the top players.

Ryan Christie is a terrific talent, although I wouldn't say he is the finished article. Like his dad, he has the heart of a lion but doesn't have an imposing frame. But he is so talented, and his game intelligence is nothing short of brilliant. He is a mainstay of the Inverness side, chipping in with goals, and he and Graeme Shinnie were the top performers in the Scottish Cup semi-final win over Celtic.

While it is close between Denayer and him for the award, I like to go for the underdogs sometimes and I wouldn't grumble if Christie pipped him to it.

Now for my Sunday Herald team of the year. I am not going to pick too many from the bottom six because they are there for a reason. When you look at the goalkeepers, Alan Mannus at St Johnstone is worth a mention, as is fellow Northern Irishman Michael McGovern at Hamilton. But Craig Gordon gets the shout for his fairy-tale comeback at Celtic.

My two full-backs will both be at Aberdeen next season. Shinnie is a certainty for me at left-back, there is nobody out there that beats him in terms of consistency. Some people say he reminds them of a young Leighton Baines.

As for right-back, Mickael Lustig and Adam Matthews have both had half a season at Celtic and Paul McGinn and David Raven have been steady, but the outstanding player has been Shay Logan. I can't remember anybody giving him a hard time.

Nir Bitton has had a good three- quarters of a season and has established himself in the Celtic team but I would just love to see Aberdeen's Ryan Jack and Scott Brown together in the deep midfield roles. Stuart Armstrong deserves a mention but he is not keeping Johansen out for that role just off the front.

I don't think anyone has been better than Niall McGinn this season wide right and we looked at Greg Stewart to sign him for Queen of the South when he was at Cowdenbeath. You were always wondering whether he could make the step up and that has definitely been answered. He now has to prove he is not a one- season wonder. Then he will go and play for a bigger club.

Up front, Leigh Griffiths has done something I have wanted him to do for years, got his head down, worked hard and made himself the main striker at Celtic. But there can be only one outstanding candidate for the striker role just for the goals he has scored, and that is Rooney.

As for the manager's award, it has to be John Hughes. If Ronny Deila had won the treble it would have been him by a mile. Likewise Derek McInnes if he had won a cup and finished such a strong second in the league. Robbie Neilson deserves a mention in his first season, as does Alex Neil. But if Inverness go on to win the cup and finish third, the prize should belong to big Yogi.