Versatility helped Leeds United's Stuart Dallas to unique hat-trick as he takes prestigious Northern Ireland award

The versatile winger-turned-full-back-turned-midfielder took the Players' Player of the Year prize for his consistency in a range of positions for the Whites in their title-winning season. Dallas was one of Marcelo Bielsa's go-to players even when Luke Ayling returned to fitness to take the right-back slot. Bielsa simply found other ways to keep Dallas in the side, to good effect. He did well in midfield and was even better at left-back, where he's apparently found a new home. This season in the Premier League he has started three of four games as a left full-back and played in a central midfield role for 90 minutes against Sheffield United and for the latter stages against Manchester City.

That versatility has come in handy for the green and white army, too. And his importance to Northern Ireland has been recognised with the International Personality of the Year Award, from the Northern Ireland Football Writers' Association.

Winning the 2020 award comes with a little piece of history for the 29-year-old. In 2011 he was named both Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year as an Irish League player and is now the first in history to achieve the hat-trick by adding the international personality gong.

“I’m very proud to be selected for this award,” said the Whites star ahead of Northern Ireland's huge European Championships play-off semi-final against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday night.

“Going from winning the Young Player of the Year and Player of the Year while I was with Crusaders to winning the International Personality of the Year award means a lot to me.

“When I look back to my time in the Irish League the time has passed by so quickly, but a lot of things have happened throughout my career since then. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it and hopefully it is still progressing.

“Over the last year or two I think my game has come on a lot, especially since Marcelo Bielsa arrived at Leeds. Certainly over the last year I feel as if I’ve been playing the best football of my career.

“I’m getting the opportunity now to play in the Premier League and hopefully I can keep progressing. We have started well and hopefully I can keep pushing on.”

Dallas admits that versatility can, at times, hinder a player's personal progress. But at Leeds, under Bielsa, he has found the opposite to be true and benefited from putting side before self. The Northern Ireland national team have also benefited.

"At times versatility can work against you because you don’t get a settled position,” said Dallas.

“You want to play in a position where you know you’re going to play week in, week out and make that position your own, but for me it’s actually worked for me because I am able to play in so many positions.

“When we played the Netherlands at home Michael O’Neill had me in three or four different positions during the 90 minutes and I suppose it just comes easy for me to adapt to it because of the work that Marcelo Bielsa has helped me with at Leeds.

“It’s something that I enjoy doing as well and it’s good to have that.”

Dallas is in line to earn his 46th cap for Northern Ireland this week.