GORDON'S NOT FLASH BUT IS MY PRIZE GUY

WHEN did a goalkeeper last land Scottish Player Of The Year honours? I'll have to hurry you.

Got it? Of course you have. It was Andy Goram who won both the players' and writers' awards while at Rangers in 1993.

When will a Scottish goalie next claim the big prize? In a matter of weeks hopefully - although I'm not sure if my nomination will carry enough support.

It's Craig Gordon for me. He's not the only player to have hit the heights this season but nobody has maintained a higher level of performance than the young Hearts star.

If the Jambos hold on to second spot for a crack at the Champions League and go on to win the Scottish Cup big Craig will deserve a lot of the credit.

Team-mates Rudi Skacel and Paul Hartley were ahead of him in the rankings for the first half of the season.

The goalscoring midfield pair were two good reasons why Hearts were serious players in the title race until the removal of manager George Burley.

But they carried too big a burden and it was inevitable the massive effort they piled in would see their form shade off as the campaign wore on.

Skacel still deserves nomination for his phenomenal scoring exploits. The Czech ace found the net in his first seven league games and has racked up an amazing 16 strikes so far.

If he had kept up his early strike rate Rudi would have walked away with Player Of The Year. But his form has tailed off like Hearts' title challenge.

Another player on show at Tynecastle today must have a chance of making the shortlist.

Rangers ace Kris Boyd is on course to grab 30 goals for the season and despite that agonising miss in Villarreal has come of age as a penalty box striker.

Scoring 17 times in 20 appearances for Killie between August and December was an impressive feat.

But there were loads of doubters who said he would struggle to continue that stunning form after moving to Ibrox.

Wrong. The 22-year-old started scoring right away and has already notched 10 goals in his 12 games for Alex McLeish's men.

Two key performers at champions-elect Celtic are clearly in the frame. Shaun Maloney would probably be the bookies' favourite to win at least one of the awards.

To say the pocket-sized midfielder has found something extra in his game this season is a huge understatement. It's almost unbelievable he came so close to being farmed out on loan last summer.

Shaun has gone from outcast to indispensable in dramatic fashion. Hoops manager Gordon Strachan doesn't dare leave him out of the team. Scotland boss Walter Smith could soon feel the same.

Whether he's best bursting in off the left touchline - Maloney has scored 12 goals from that position this season - or burrowing through in a central striking role is open to debate.

Wherever you put him he's dynamite.

Stilian Petrov has also played a key role in Celtic's title push. His appetite for success remains insatiable.

Getting the Bulgarian captain to sign an extended contract is the best bit of business the club has done this season.

They needed to hold on to Petrov if their ambitions were to be taken seriously.

German legend Lothar Matthaus has told Bayern Munich they should use some of the money saved from the departure of Michael Ballack to finance a move for Petrov.

Former Hungary manager Matthaus, who faced Stan in international football, says he is "a player who plays with his sleeves rolled up and is a leader for 90 minutes". That's some tribute.

It's probably Petrov and Maloney who are most likely to be writing an acceptance speech with Boyd and Skacel in a supporting role.

But the excellent goalkeeping of Scotland No.1 Gordon has continually caught my eye.

How many mistakes can you recall? And I can't remember too many games where he hasn't pulled off a top-drawer save.

My favourite was against Motherwell at Tynecastle in August when David Clarkson was convinced he'd salvaged a point with virtually the last kick.

He couldn't have made cleaner contact. It was whistling into the corner of the net and Gordon had no right to make a fantastic save.

What you get from him is finesse without fuss. And that should make Craig a winner.

Taken from the Sunday Mail