Connor Barron and Calvin Ramsay have been nominated for the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award.

Only two Aberdeen players have won the award since it was first introduced in 1977/78. Eoin Jess won it twice in 1990/91 and 1992/93. The last Dons youngster to pick up the coveted prize was Kevin McNaughton in 2001/02. In recent years, both Scott McKenna and Lewis Ferguson have been nominated.

The two Youth Academy graduates spoke to RedTV after hearing of their nominations.

“I never thought I would be this far along in my career at this age to be nominated for an award like this,” admitted Calvin. “My aim at the start of the season was to try and play as many games as I could and put in some solid performances. To get nominated is a very nice bonus, it means a lot to me.”

“It’s very nice to see my name on the short-list,” added Connor. “It’s great to get the recognition from your fellow players for the performances you are putting in. The highlight of the season for me has being staying in the team! I felt I might get a shot towards the end of the campaign after returning from my loan spell. That was what I was pushing to do and I said to myself that if the chance did come, to make sure I kept myself in the team. So far, I have done that, but I know I need to keep it up. I had a couple of man of the match performances at the start which I am proud of, but the only thing that matters in the results, and they need to change.”

“It’s been great playing alongside Connor,” said Calvin. “When I played up a level in the academy, I would sometimes play with Connor. I remember how good he was technically. We played together in the Youth Academy, the U18s and at reserve level. We’ve both made the breakthrough this season, so to both be nominated in our first full season in the first team is special.

“At the start of the season I had a number of assists and as a full-back, that is important because I knew that I was helping the team. I particularly enjoyed the one against Dundee United. But then more recently, I scored my first goal against Dundee and that is my highlight so far.

“Getting into the first team is something you dream about as a kid and all the work you do in the youth academy is to try and help you achieve that. But once you have made your debut you need to cement your place in the team and that is the hard part.”

Looking ahead to Saturday’s game with Dundee, Connor added: “Every game is a big game at this club but we all realise how important this one is. We have got to go and put things right. We keep saying it, but we are running out of time, so we need to go and do it now. Hopefully this is the day.

“The last couple of games, we have not played that badly at times, but it is missing that final bit, putting the ball in the net when we get into the final third. Every player in the side needs to start taking responsibility to make that happen.”

“It does not matter if it is pretty or not today,” adds Calvin. “It does not matter how we do it. All that matters is that we get the three points. It is a massive game and all the boys know how big it is.

“The supporters have been brilliant all season, especially towards the young players like Connor and myself. We really appreciate the backing that we have had home and away. Hopefully on Saturday we can put on a performance that they enjoy.”

The award winners will be announced by PFA Scotland on Sunday.