The best centre-backs in the air in the Scottish Premiership this season - includes Hearts hero and Hibs favourite in top 10

The days of a defender being asked solely to win his battles and kick the ball as far as possible away from goal are a thing of the past. Centre-backs are now increasingly being asked to be multi-faceted, capable of starting moves just as they are at stopping them.

There’s also many other ways of judging someone’s defensive prowess, such as positioning, anticipation and awareness that are tricky things to measure, even in the advanced stats.

But let’s be real. This is still Scottish football. There remain a plethora of teams who like nothing more than to swing the ball into the opposition penalty area and ask questions of the defence. Therefore, it’s still very much beneficial to possess a player who can be relied upon to send it back up the park with a strong header.

(Hearts defender Craig Halkett would’ve been included in this top 10 but hasn’t played enough minutes this season.)