Five Celts nominated in PFA Scotland awards | OneFootball

With the Celtic Player of the Year Awards night going ahead this Sunday, the PFA Scotland awards are also on the horizon, with no fewer than three Celts in the running for the top prize.

Hoops captain, Callum McGregor, along with team-mates Daizen Maeda and Nicolas Kuhn have been nominated alongside Dundee striker, Simon Murray.

The good news doesn’t stop there, though, as Arne Engels is also in the running for Young Player of the Year while Emma Lawton has been nominated in the SWPL Player of the Year category.

At the announcement today, the Celtic skipper gave the perfect example of mentioning Daizen Maeda without using the words 'Daizen' or 'Maeda' when he was asked by Celtic TV if he himself had a chance of beating his two Celtic team-mates.

He laughed: “Probably not! I think we all know who is going to win this, but the two boys have been amazing. Nic, in the first half of the season was outstanding, and obviously then gets another couple of goals at the weekend.”

The captain added: “Daizen has been scoring for fun, so it’s always good to see three nominees up and the team doing so well, so when the collective is doing well, the individuals within that will flourish as well.

“Arne is up for young player in his first season as well, Nic came in halfway through last year, so it shows you how quickly they’ve settled.

“They’re enjoying their football and producing really good numbers in goals and assists, playing with confidence and helping the team win games.”

Celtic FC Women’s defender, Emma Lawton said: “I’ve enjoyed every minute since I’ve came to the club. It’s been a bit surreal but it’s been a great opportunity and I’ve loved every minute of it.

“If I’m going to be honest, when I signed I didn’t expect really to play, I thought I’d probably be a bit of a squad player.

“So to come in and play as much as I have, it’s been a bit of a surprise, but, like I say, I’ve just really enjoyed it and hopefully I’ve proved my worth.

“When it’s a nomination by fellow people within the league, and you play against them week-in, week-out, for them to recognise you as an individual then it’s a really proud moment.”

Arne Engels said: “It’s an amazing feeling to get this kind of reward, it’s really nice and also nice to get recognised a bit for the work that you’re putting in every day. So it’s an amazing feeling.

“You’re working for it every day and it’s nice to get those recognitions for your work and it’s also a really nice feeling to have this kind of thing that all the players can vote for players that they want to see.”