Liam Boyce beats Hearts team mate to PFA award as Hibs youngster misses out on double

Hearts striker Liam Boyce has been named the PFA Scotland Championship Player of the Year.

Hearts striker Liam Boyce was voted Championship Player of the Year.

The Northern Irishman was nominated for the second tier award alongside Tynecastle team-mate Craig Gordon Dundee playmaker Charlie Adam and Raith Rovers midfielder Regan Hendry.

The PFA Scotland awards – announced online on Sunday evening – are voted for solely by the players and Boyce came out on top in the Championship ballot after finishing the season as league’s top scorer with 14 goals. He also contributed six assists to Robbie Neilson’s title-winning side.

There was some consolation for goalkeeper Gordon though as the Scotland national team, which he has been part of since being recalled to Steve Clarke’s squad in November, claimed the PFA Scotland Special Merit Award for lifting the spirits of the nation during the COVID pandemic by reaching the Euro 2020 finals.

The award was accepted on behalf of the players by skipper Andy Robertson.

There was commiserations for Josh Doig though as the Hibs youngster missed out on an awards double.

Having previously been selected as the Scottish Football Writers Young Player of the Year following his impressive breakthrough season at Easter Road, the 18-year-old was pipped to the PFA Young Player of the Year title by Celtic midfielder David Turnbull.

The other PFA awards went to Rangers with manager Steven Gerrard voted GMB/PFA Scotland Manager of the Year while club captain James Tavernier picked up the PFA Scotland Player of the Year prize.

A consensus was reached with players in League One and Two not to have a Player of the Year vote in those divisions due to the stop-start nature of their season.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.If you haven't already, please consider supporting our sports coverage with a digital sports subscription.