HEARTS will get their hands on the Championship trophy at the weekend but a host of players will likely miss out on a league winner's medal.

Scottish Professional Football League rules dictate that only those that participate in 25 per cent of matches in the second tier qualify for a medal.

That means players have to feature in at least nine league games, whether starting or as a substitute.

January recruit Kenny Anderson must play some part in Saturday's televised visit of Rangers if he is to be awarded a medal, having made four starts and four substitute outings since his move from RKC Waalwijk.

But Dale Carrick, who has been plagued by injury, is set to miss out after making a total of four appearances during the record-breaking campaign.

Back-up goalkeepers Jack Hamilton and Scott Gallacher also will not receive a medal, while long-serving midfielder Scott Robinson falls short having made only five outings

Having made five starts and 10 appearances from the bench, midfielder Jason Holt qualifies even though he joined Sheffield United on loan in January.

And having made nine substitute appearances, striker Gary Oliver will also be handed a medal, as will St Johnstone-bound defender Brad McKay.

Meanwhile, Neilson, who was yesterday named among four nominees for the PFA Scotland Manager of the Year award, insists Carrick is part of his plans for their return to the top-flight after the pacey striker's campaign was hampered by a hamstring problem.

The 21-year-old was initially sidelined by a tear in October and then aggravated the injury in February during his short-term loan stint at Raith Rovers.

Carrick has been restricted to six outings in all competition, netting twice, but Neilson insists he has not forgotten about the marksman.

He said: "Dale has a big future here. He's had a difficult season. Last year he did really well, coming as a young player and scoring some really important goals. "This one has been difficult for him. He'll come back for pre-season and be part of the squad. I see him being involved next season, similar to young Gary Oliver.

"He'd probably hope that the season would last another couple of months because he's just starting to get himself fit and we're about to break up.

"He came to me last week and asked if he could play in the Under-20s. We hadn't planned to put him in. We intended giving him another week's training but he wanted to play. I think he's just desperate to get going now."