St Mirren midfield maestro Mark O’Hara must be in the conversation for Scotland’s player of the year.
That’s the view of Saints boss Stephen Robinson, who feels his stand-in captain has been a stand-out in the stripes this season.
O’Hara has netted an impressive 12 goals from the middle of the park in all competitions, including 10 in the Premiership to help the Buddies make the top six for the first time in nearly four decades.
That tally includes three efforts against league champions-elect Celtic and two against Rangers, one of which was a goal of the season contender at Ibrox last month.
While Hoops heroes Reo Hatate and Kyogo Furuhashi remain the odds on favourites to lift the prestigious gong this season, Robinson insists O’Hara should be in the running for his superlative performances while often donning the armband in club captain Joe Shaughnessy’s absence.
Robinson told Renfrewshire Live Sport: “In my opinion he’s the player of the year.
“Obviously he’s competing against top, top footballers. But Mark’s a top, top footballer - and I’m biased!
“I certainly think he should be in that conversation. He’s scored goals against Celtic, he’s scored goals against Rangers at Ibrox. He’s performed brilliantly for us.
“Players at the Old Firm get more publicity and rightly so because they’re at the top of the league, in the Champions League and win cups.
“They are on TV more and are in people’s eyeline more, so they get more attention.
“But hopefully this season we have brought St Mirren to people’s attention and Mark’s performances, for me, should be recognised.
“He’s still a relatively quiet boy and is very easy maintenance. He gets on with his job and comes in and doesn’t give you any problems and works his socks off every day.
“He leads by example in terms of how he conducts himself around the place and on the pitch, as does Joe Shaughnessy.
“He isn’t super-vocal in terms of organisation he understands the game well. He’s a bright boy, which isn’t always the case in football.
“He understands it tactically and it’s good he can control boys on the pitch.
“We have got five or six lads who can pull people around and it makes my job a lot easier.”
O’Hara is set to play a key role this month as St Mirren look to build on their top-six success by qualifying for Europe next season, starting with tomorrow afternoon’s crucial trip to Easter Road to face Hibs.
Robinson believes the 27-year-old is thriving playing further forward for the Buddies this season.
And he warned any suitors the Paisley club wouldn’t ever let the Barrhead boy go on the cheap after he signed a contract extension to 2026 in March.
Robinson said: “He’s always had the potential. He’s a brilliant athlete and is technically very good. He’s added a lot more goals to his game and is getting further forward for us this season. He did that for me at Motherwell in my first season and the second season I played him deeper.
“This is his best position and he has added that consistency to his game. His performances have been very, very good.
“The system suits him well. He’s allowed to open his legs and get into the box to express himself and he’s benefited from that. So have we. obviously.
“I’ve no doubt with the calibre of goals he’s scored and his performances he’s going to attract interest. I know clubs really like him, but we’ve got Mark under contract and if someone wants him they’ll have to pay the going rate for him.
“Hopefully, gone are the days - and I don’t control the finances - where St Mirren sell on the cheap.
“We want to build something and I certainly don’t want him to go and would be really disappointed if he did go. Mark’s very happy here and is a top boy.”
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