Player of the Year Awards

Presented at the Sportsmans Dinner on the Park, held on the eve of the club's cup final appearance.

Pars Under 19 Player of the Year-IAIN WILLIAMSON
sponsored by Dunfermline Athletic Supporters Club

Every year Dunfermline fans keep an eye on young players coming through from the club's youth set.One reason for that is that they want to make sure it's working, and the second reason is that there is always that little bit of extra pride in a local player who has come good. After all this is a club that bred such an array of talent during the 1960s that they went on to play for top clubs around Britain as well as grace the international scene.The player who has easily made the biggest impact from that source this season is Iain Williamson.

19 year old Iain, who comes from Edinburgh, was a player who didn't seem to be going very far until there was a fairly dramatic change around a month into the season. Assistant Manager Craig Robertson takes up the story:

"Iain had been playing as a midfielder without huge success. We tried him in different positions and it seemed to be bringing the best out in him.  We played him wide right and he improved, then we tried him up front and he improved again.

"Iain made his way into the first team squad as a reward for his good performances and got on the bench for the first time at Pittodrie on 26th August 2006. During this period he was scoring goals regularly for the youth team and the reserves and keeping himself in the limelight, and he eventually made his first team debut against Rangers at Ibrox on 11thNovember 2006, aged 18. A further three appearances occurred during the season, but perhaps more importantly were the 23 times during the season that he occupied a place on the bench. Clearly new manager Stephen Kenny had faith in the player and that faith was confirmed when Iain was offered and accepted a two-year extension to his playing contract in May 2007. He is a player with both pace and an eye for goal but perhaps what swung the new contract his way is Iain's reputation for being a player who works hard at his game.Dunfermline fans can reasonably expect that this product of the youth policy will have a lot more to give in the future.

Pars Young Player of the Year-ADAM HAMMILL
sponsored by Pars Supporters Trust

Just as there is a certain pride about 'local boy comes good' with Iain Williamson, there is a different sense of pride when fans know that a player of exceptionally high quality has agreed to play for a club with - at least in UK terms - a comparatively modest past.When it was announced in January 2007 that Adam Hammill would be joining Dunfermline on loan from Liverpool, there was a real buzz about the club.

That was partly because here was a player, albeit a young player, who had the potential to be one of England's stars of the future.And he had already shown it with an astonishing goal for his country's Under 19 team just before moving to East End Park.Adam's impact on and off the park was enormous. The tales of how senior pros doubted the management's wisdom about putting such faith in a young player until they stood in open-jawed admiration at his contribution are the stuff that this game is all about.In his debut on 21stJanuary, Adam came on as a sub against Rangers and almost got the Pars back into the game single-handedly.

Word clearly spread quickly and before long Adam found himself being marked by two, sometimes three players.It must have spread even quicker when his scintillating goal against Celtic at Parkhead was beamed across the nation's TVs!It hasn't been just the quality of Adam's play that has satisfied, but also his whole attitude to playing for Dunfermline. His very presence undoubtedly provided a massive psychological boost that very nearly gave Dunfermline the redemption they were seeking. Off the park Adam has been active and involved in various functions and events.

On the park, he has shown his willingness to learn and has worked really hard on the defensive side of his game.But the bit that the fans really like is to see a player attack his opponent and that is something that Adam is a master of. His step overs, shuffles and shimmies will become the stuff of legend, and the story isn't finished yet.

Pars Player of the Year-SCOTT WILSON
sponsored by The Purvis Group

If ever a footballer deserved the accolade of Player of the Year then surely Scott Wilson is that man.  During his five-year period with Dunfermline Athletic, Scott has grown in stature both as a player and also as an ambassador.  On numerous occasions in the past he has been very close to this award but has only just missed out.  Now in a season when his hard work in defence has been an inspiration, Scott has been justly rewarded.Scott is a product of Rangers youth policy and a player who featured quite regularly in the first team at Ibrox before he transferred to Dunfermline in 2002.

Jimmy Calderwood's signing was very quickly a regular in the Pars side and was very unlucky to miss the 2004 Scottish Cup Final when he suffered appendicitis just prior to the game.  He has continued to play the role of a senior squad member and has frequently been called upon to take on the captain's armband.  His skills were briefly recognised at international level when he played for the Scotland B squad under Berti Vogts.  On the park, Scott is something of a perfectionist and is renowned for moaning at his fellow players.It has to be said however that he doesn't expect any more of them than he does of himself. 

He has set very high standards as an excellent central defender and is one of the reasons for Dunfermline's very good defence in a season when they have been under pressure in other ways.  Scott's defending has not always found favour with referees but that has often seemed a little cruel in circumstances that have been as much to do with Scott's combative nature as they have been to do with the malice in his tackles.  But the other side of this is that Dunfermline are fortunate to have on their books one of the best defenders in the Scottish game.Scott invariably gets the better of some very highly lauded opponents with his reading of the game, his incisive tackles, and his tremendous aerial strength.

Recently Scott committed his future to Dunfermline despite the fact that he knew there was a very strong possibility of the club being relegated so that speaks volumes about his commitment.And it is that commitment that Stephen Kenny may yet use as his best tool out of the First Division next season.