Freddie Sears was the winner of the John Kerridge Memorial Trophy, the manager’s choice award, at the club’s End of Season Dinner last week, but boss Mick McCarthy says there were plenty of candidates for him to consider.
"The manager’s choice it’s picking the best player or most consistent player and there are a whole lot of attributes which go into that," McCarthy said.
"One of them I think is how you play on a consistent basis, but he’s also very selfless, he’s gone and played centre-forward, he’s played behind the frontman, he’s played on the right or the left.
"He could have been moved in a game but he has never once whinged or complained, he’s got on with it, played equally well in every position.
"It may have hindered him in terms of the goals he’s scored, although he still had chances, and he’s just gone on and done it.
"That for a team, those kinds of people are just invaluable. I think he deserves it for that and he’s also had a very good season, he’s played just about every minute of every game as well.”
He added: "There were a lot of players who were in the frame. People will say to me, ‘Who’s your best player?’. Kids always ask that.
"And I say that that doesn’t work with me, it’s who is the most effective player. Then there are a lot of other things, picking a manager’s choice for the season.
"There were a few in there, which is good. Brett Pitman, his ratio of coming on and scoring goals is particularly good.
"You could pick any of the back four, you could pick Bartosz because Bart got all the other awards. He was in the team, he was out of the team [after the sad loss of his father], he got back in the team, he’s been brilliant.
"Him and Gerks, neither of them have complained, they’ve been two really good keepers.
"I’m fortunate on that score, I’ve got quite a lot of players that I could put up as candidates for the manager’s choice for the player of the year.”
Photos: Reuters/ITFC