
The title has been settled, but there is still much to debate.
It’s that time of year when players and journalists go to the polls to choose their best players of the season. Celtic fought their way to the Premiership title, but how many green-and-whites shone individually, and was there anyone else who caught the eye?
BBC Scotland pundit Michael Stewart talks to us about his candidates for star of the season…
Kevin van Veen (Motherwell)
With these things, you go with what’s freshest in your mind, and right now that person is Kevin van Veen.
He is in great form with Motherwell and now has 21 league goals. When you look at the forwards, he’s part of a team that’s been through some big troubled times in the season, so to have scored 21 league goals is great.
What more can you ask for? For me, Van Veen is a clear contender, but that’s not just his goals, but his all-around game. When it’s in shape, it’s a handful.
Technically he is superb, physically he is strong. You wouldn’t say he would intimidate people and make fun of them, but he’s hard for defenders to deal with. You can also wink at his linking game.
He’s 31 now, but there will be a few people trying to tease him. The scorers are worth their weight in gold and the goals are linked.
Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes (Aberdeen)
Duk is another who is fresh in spirit, given that teammate Bojan Miovski was up front at one point.
He came to the fore and the couple entered into a partnership which was very lucrative for Aberdeen, particularly under Barry Robson.
Duk is so quick and pace is a huge attribute in this league. If Aberdeen goes on and finishes third, you’d be hard-pressed to look past him as a contender.
You talk about Van Veen in terms of physical presence, goal threat and his other attributes. The Aberdeen striker brings raw pace and energy. This causes big problems for opponents.
There are a lot of teams that don’t have a lot of pace and that’s a huge problem, when you throw in someone like Duk, and it causes chaos.
Mark O’Hara (St Mirren)
There have been a few St Mirren players who have had a terrific season for Stephen Robinson’s side. If you were any other club in the top flight, you’d think some of them wouldn’t bother you.
Neither does Mark O’Hara. He has scored goals this season, and big goals too. I know he got a few penalties, but in the big games he put in some huge performances that got attention.
He launched and grew in the role of leader of the team. He bounced back earlier in his career, but if you know the manager has your back and believes in you, that brings huge confidence.
O’Hara will be riding high right now, and he’s been a huge asset.

Lawrence Shankland (Hearts)
Hearts’ season may have slowed down a bit, but one player you can’t ignore at Tynecastle is Lawrence Shankland.
He’s scored so many goals and his overall level of performance throughout the season hasn’t really gone down. He is not a million kilometers away, even if some of his teammates have lowered their level a little in the second half of the season.
Look at some of his goals. He scored a brilliant effort at Rugby Park last month and netted a hat-trick against Ross County a few weeks ago.
He must be someone who is up there for consideration.
Callum McGregor (Celtic)
The leader of Celtic deserves to be here, it’s Mr Consistent. And it’s not just seven out of 10 every week, it’s eight or nine.
You can see he commands total respect among his teammates. You level up when you pick up the captain’s armband, but even looking at him five years ago he had it in him.
Back then, he might not have been the first name on the team roster, but you always knew he was a top player who could play in multiple positions. When Broony dropped out for a few games, I saw him fall back into that deep role and he was magnificent. That’s obviously his main position now, and he stood out.
He is a versatile midfielder. He has a great awareness, good on both sides, can get players out of the game without even touching the ball, just a very, very good player. He is the metronome in the middle of the park for Celtic, and everyone knows how important he has been for them this season.

Reo Hatate (Celtic)
Hatate is the star of this Celtic team, he is a complete midfielder.
He’s not a defensive powerhouse, but the job he does off the ball in those areas is amazing. He’s an archetypal Ange Postecoglou player, just a complete buzz bomb.
There are things he sees that no one else does, he has an intensity to his game that makes the big difference between Celtic and everyone else. There are also incredible goals in there.
Celtic miss him when he’s not around.
Kyogo Furuhashi (Celtic)
Another player who has gone up a notch this season, but it hasn’t always been so easy for the Japanese striker.
In the Champions League group stage, it just wasn’t there for him. He wasn’t playing badly, there was something that wasn’t clicking. He was still scoring goals here and there at the end of the year, but after the World Cup he really started. Maybe the motivation of not being in Qatar spurred him on.
When you look at the Japanese boys at Celtic, I find it incredible that Kyogo and Hatate are not involved at international level. Regardless of who a player is playing for, you can see the level of intensity and quality they have. You put them both in an international team as high as that, they wouldn’t have any problem at all.
Celtic have had some great strikers lately. Edouard, Dembele… Kyogo has in him the courage to go up another notch. As a football fan, you feel deflated when someone of quality leaves, but new heroes arrive. Kyogo started with a bang and since the beginning of the year, he hasn’t stopped.
One for the future – Nicolas Raskin (Rangers)
I really don’t see anyone on the Rangers side individually who you think has excelled enough to be in contention for player of the season. However, some showed signs of positivity for the future.
Todd Cantwell caught the eye, but for me Nicolas Raskin really stood out. He hasn’t been there that long, but the little bits I saw of him, I can see why they brought him.
Ryan Jack is over 30, Glen Kamara has drifted a bit and you need that freshness. It caught the eye and looks like a bargain.
Michael Stewart was speaking to BBC Scotland’s Scott Mullen