WHEN IT comes to Player of the Year awards people sometimes only see the obvious.

David Ginola - hair today, gone tomorrow at Newcastle - was voted the best by both players and scribes in the season which ended at Wembley today.

A decent case could also be made for smiler Dwight Yorke and for miler Roy Keane who has run endlessly in pursuit of Manchester United's treble dream.

However one guy who never warranted a passing mention by those who know, or think they know, was Leicester City winger Steve Guppy.

Yet a startling fact backs the belief that Guppy should at very least have crossed someone's mind.

Because the 30-year-old is the only player in the Premiership to have played every second of every game for nine long months.

He was picked for all 48 of Leicester's league and cup games and never - not once - was manager Martin O'Neill moved to substitute him. No other player in soccer's top echelon can say the same.

If that isn't a monument to consistency, to ability, and to dedication then I don't know what is.

Ironically Guppy, whose stay at Newcastle United under Kevin Keegan was no longer than a blink of the eye, plays down the same left wing as double award winner Ginola.

While the flair may not be so flamboyant and the swagger less than Gallic, he is nonetheless a hugely effective wide man and a crosser of the ball par excellence. No dying swan, either.

When comparing the G forces it may be well to remember that, offset against spectacular goals, Ginola was subbed about 30 times this season. Guppy, as I've said, not once. Who would you prefer to rely on?

O'Neill, a touchline windmill, won't tolerate slackers or pampered superstars, so for a winger to play 90 minutes of every match under his leadership is testimony indeed.

The nearest Steve came to an early shower was, ironically, when Leicester visited his old club Newcastle in December and he was injured late on. Luckily or not, O'Neill had already used his three subs and a record was preserved.

Players like Guppy are the lifeblood of football. He began in non-league soccer with Wycombe Wanderers (O'Neill was also his boss then) and was a builder and bailiff's driver during the day. From life's reality he learned to be grateful for every second of existence as a Premiership player and England B international.