Paul Paton has revealed he has voted for St Johnstone’s Stevie May as young player of the year but only because rules forbid him from nominating his Dundee United team-mate Andy Robertson.
Both youngsters have had superb seasons, with the 21-year-old Saints striker scoring 25 goals already this term including the double last Sunday which took his side through to meet the Tangerines in next month’s Scottish Cup final after spending the last two campaigns out on loan with Hamilton and Alloa.
However, Paton, who has been a revelation himself since making the step up from the Championship with Partick Thistle, believes that, with the greatest of respect to May, 19-year-old Robertson is the one deserving of the players’ accolade.
He said: “Stevie has been great this season. I think his situation was a bit like my own in that you just need someone to give you a chance at the higher level, and he’s shown he can do it in the top flight.
“He’s scored goals at every level he’s played at and he’s been brilliant which is why I voted for him for young player of the year and in the team of the year, so that says everything about what I think about him.
“It was an easy decision for me to vote for him but that’s because I can’t vote for my team-mates, otherwise Andy Robertson, in my opinion, has been the best young player in the country by a mile.
“Goal scorers always seem to get more credit but if you look at Andy’s consistency levels, the fact he came from the Third Division and got a Scotland call-up, he’s been a breath of fresh air.”
Paton added: “But that is taking nothing away from Stevie May who has been unbelievable.
“I’m not sure how many goals St Johnstone have scored as a team if you take his out of their total, but his goal ratio has been unbelievable and he does it season in, season out.
“With the amount of goals he’s scored, I think he could produce the goods no matter what level he goes to and if he continues doing what he’s doing on a regular basis, a Scotland call-up can’t be far away.
“When I came up against Stevie last season for Partick Thistle against Hamilton Accies, I actually got sent off for a tackle on him!
“We were going for the league at the time and we got beat, so there was a bit of frustration and I got myself sent off.”
Paton could be forgiven for pinching himself at what he has achieved in his first season at Tannadice but the player insists it was exactly what he was aiming to do when he joined the club in the summer.
He did admit it will be difficult to put the Scottish Cup final to the back of his mind, but he insists the United players have to retain their focus on league business starting with Saturday’s game against none other than Saints.
He said: “I keep getting asked if the season has exceeded my expectations but it hasn’t and that’s why I came here. It was my ambition to play in big semi-finals and get to finals and that’s what I expected.
“I knew the gaffer had built a good side and I wanted to be part of it. Everyone has been on a high since Saturday.
“The aim was to get to the Scottish Cup final and we managed to do that, so it was a great relief and good for everyone at the club from the chairman to the management staff, players and fans.
“It’s going to be hard not to think about the final, but it gives us something to look forward to and fight for until the end of the season because we’re still going for Europe and trying to finish as high up the league as possible.
“I don’t think the fact we’re playing St Johnstone in the final will have any bearing on our game against them on Saturday. It’s just another game, I don’t think we’ll read too much into each other’s performance at this early stage.
“There are still just over four weeks until the final itself, so it will be the same as any game.
“I managed to catch some of their semi-final against Aberdeen on Sunday and they did really well and Stevie May was brilliant again with two good goals.
“We know what St Johnstone are all about. They’re hard to break down and can score goals as well, so they’re a good side.”