Young Hibs star Fletch didn't expect award

GIVEN he is approaching 150 appearances for Hibs, many eyebrows would have been raised at Steven Fletcher's eligibility for one of football's most prestigious awards.

Even Fletcher himself confesses to feeling as if he has "been around forever", but the truth of the matter is that, despite the fact he made his debut four years ago, he only turned 21 a couple of months ago. As such, he becomes the third Hibs player in four years to pick up the Scottish Football Writers' Young Player of the Year Award, a prize which he will receive at a star-studded dinner on Sunday.

Today Fletcher admitted the notion of winning such an accolade had never entered his thoughts, even if his own team-mates had chosen him as the Easter Road outfit's young player of the year just last weekend.

Having seen former team-mates Derek Riordan and Scott Brown receive similar recognition in recent seasons, he said: "I am obviously delighted but also a bit surprised because I feel my form has dipped a little recently."

It is, of course, Fletcher's performances over the season which count rather than those of recent weeks, the Easter Road kid just holding off Motherwell's Ross McCormack for the award in what has been a remarkable year for him.

Having been nursed through the formative years of his career, this has been Fletcher's first season as an out-and-out striker, handed the coveted No.9 jersey at the start of the campaign by John Collins.

Fletcher hasn't disappointed, again beating his previous year's goal tally with 14 strikes in what he describes as something of a rollercoaster season. Those goals also helped earn him his first full Scotland cap.

Facing Croatia at Hampden in what was George Burley's first match as Scotland manager was the natural progression for Fletcher who has steadily worked his way through the various age levels, springing to international prominence with a string of goals which took this nation to the final of the European Under-19 Championship a couple of years ago.

Although the young Scots were eventually beaten by Spain, the competition favourites, it also earned them a place in the Under-20 World Cup finals in Canada last summer and, if reports are to be believed, brought Fletcher to the attention of Real Madrid.

Despite such speculation, however, Fletcher has kept his feet firmly on the ground, joking that the pals who have been ribbing him mercilessly since won't be laughing when he "sends the private jet" to ferry them over for a holiday.

Instead, Fletcher is focusing on Hibs' final two games of the season – away to Celtic and a final-day encounter in Edinburgh with UEFA Cup rivals Motherwell – and he is determined to add to a goal tally which has been static since he netted against Kilmarnock in mid-March.

He said: "I start every season looking to score more goals than I did the previous year. I did that last season in scoring 12 after getting ten the year before and I've done it again by scoring 14 this time.

"But it would be nice to add another goal or two before the end of the season to, hopefully, get us that place in the UEFA Cup. Then next season I'll be aiming to beat that total, whether it be 14, 15 or 16."

Fletcher's goals tally may be more modest than some others, but given he's missed a fair number of games through injury – the price any modern day striker has to pay – it's more than praise-worthy.

And today he admitted he now appreciates why former boss Tony Mowbray nursed him through a couple of seasons of first-team football, protecting him from the physical side of the game by having him drift in and out of the team, while he found himself playing wide left of midfield on those occasions he was involved.

He said: "As someone who regarded himself as a striker, a player who simply wants to score goals, it was frustrating at the time.

"But Tony Mowbray was a great manager, he knew how tough it was for anyone to play up front against big, physical defenders and that my body simply wasn't strong enough to cope.

"I still get a few fair knocks, as does any forward and I feel I can still get a lot stronger but there's no doubt I am better equipped now than I would have been a couple of years ago."

Having Mixu Paatelainen, a former striker, as his manager now is also benefiting Fletcher, as has the arrival of Colin Nish from Kilmarnock, the pair having quickly formed a promising partnership which has already reaped rewards in terms of goals scored.

Fletcher said: "The gaffer is always working on the strikers, our runs, our movement, where we should be positioned in certain situations and that can only get better as we get to know how he wants the team to play."

Paatelainen, of course, is Fletcher's fourth manager, Bobby Williamson having given him his debut when he replaced Garry O'Connor for the final three minutes of a 3-0 win over Kilmarnock at Easter Road on April 10, 2004, only to depart for Plymouth a few weeks later. Despite the changes in the managerial hot-seat Fletcher's career has continued to develop with the promise of much more to come from a striker who signed a new long-term deal earlier this season.

He said: "I've learned from every manager, they all have their different ideas and styles but I've also benefited from playing alongside some great players like Garry O'Connor, Derek Riordan, Scott Brown, Steven Whittaker, Kevin Thomson and so on."

Pulling on the dark blue jersey that night at Hampden – only to have the occasion spoiled by a back injury which forced him off at the interval – may have been the highlight of Fletcher's season, but he revealed the hat-trick he scored against Gretna in a 4-2 win in Edinburgh in February wasn't far behind.

He said: "I enjoy every goal I score, but my first senior hat-trick will always be special. I got the ball, of course, and it's a bit unique in that we played with a yellow ball that night because of the conditions.

"It's a memento I'll always keep although, obviously, I hope there's a few more hat-tricks to come in the years ahead."