Derek McInnes, John McGlynn and Gary Naysmith are up for Scotland’s SPFL manager of the year award, with Hearts leading the Premiership and Falkirk pushing on.
Three Scottish football managers who have shaped their teams’ seasons in very different ways are in the spotlight after being named nominees for the SPFL manager of the year award.
Derek McInnes of Hearts, John McGlynn of Falkirk and Gary Naysmith of League One side Stenhousemuir have all been shortlisted by the Managers and Coaches Association of Scotland.. McInnes’ nomination, in particular, is linked to how quickly Hearts have been moving since he took over last summer, with the Jambos carrying momentum into the business end of the campaign.
For Hearts, the numbers tell a straightforward story: the club are three points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership and have led for much of the season.. At Tynecastle Park, they remain unbeaten in league play since McInnes began his spell, and they have only suffered four league defeats overall this term.. For supporters who have lived through decades without a Premiership title, that context matters—this is not just a good run, it’s a late-season push for something bigger.
The other side of the shortlist brings a different kind of pressure: expectation from momentum rather than recovery.. John McGlynn’s Falkirk have reached another level after back-to-back promotions, and the Bairns have already managed a top-six finish in their return season to the top flight.. Having previously won manager of the year in 2024 and again in 2025, the challenge now is to do it once more—while keeping performance steady rather than letting the rise become the finish.
Naysmith’s Stenhousemuir nomination reflects a season built around stability, particularly at home.. In League One, the Warriors are unbeaten on their own turf, and with only one game remaining they sit two points behind Inverness Caley Thistle in the title race.. Promotion to the Scottish Championship would be a major milestone for a club aiming to move into a higher tier for the first time.
There is also the broader feel of a year where coaching achievements across the leagues—and across men’s and women’s football—are drawing unusually clear lines between planning and outcomes.. When a team is consistently near the top, it usually means recruitment has matched the system, training has translated into results, and game management has held up when opponents come harder.. That’s exactly what these nominations are designed to reward: managers whose work is visible across the full arc of a season.
Looking beyond the SPFL award, the nominations extend into the SWPL and PFA Scotland categories.. Hearts’ Eva Olid is on the shortlist for the SWPL award, with the women’s title race taking on extra weight as she and the squad are two points clear at the top.. Glasgow City sit second, and Leanne Ross has also earned a nomination as she looks to add to her trophy haul—after a long association with the club as a player and now head coach.
On the PFA Scotland side, Hearts duo Claudio Braga and Lawrence Shankland are among the contenders for player of the year, competing against Elijah Just and Tawanda Maswanhise of Motherwell.. The young player category includes Rangers’ Mikey Moore alongside Barney Stewart of Falkirk, Arbroath’s Findlay Marshall and Dundee’s Luke Graham.. PFA Scotland have also revealed nominees for women’s player and young player, with Glasgow City duo Lee Gibson and Nicole Kozlova joined by Hearts’ Georgia Timms and Rangers forward Katie Wilkinson, and young player nominees featuring Rangers pair Laura Berry and May Cruft, Hibernian’s Rosie Livingstone and Lisa Forrest of Glasgow City.
With the 2025/26 season nearing its conclusion, the managerial awards feel like a last act built from months of detail—team shape, consistency, and the ability to respond to setbacks.. For Hearts, the emotional stakes are obvious: turning a dominant stretch into a first top-flight title in 58 years.. For Falkirk and Stenhousemuir, the stakes are different but just as real, with promotions and breakthroughs defining what “success” means.. Whoever takes the award, the nominations already map out a Scottish football storyline about direction, belief, and what happens when a season’s momentum doesn’t fade.