There are players at every club who are known as impact or "super" subs.

Some players are known to be better from the bench, injecting pace or urgency into a lifeless game or shoring things up to avoid tiring legs. Here we salute the SPL substitutes, the players who know more about the bench than your average judge.

Sub appearances

The following is a table of the players who have come off the bench most frequently in the history of the SPL. They are the players who have been called in as the reinforcements, the go-to guys for game changing moments.

Darren Mackie made his 93rd substitute appearance in the SPL in last weekend's draw with Hibernian and could yet make the century this season. Mackie overtook Nacho Novo, who was particularly effective as a substitute for Rangers (82 from the bench) and also Dundee.

Steven Thompson is another who could yet be a centurion, although his importance to St Mirren may well mean he is used more as a starter than from the bench. Colin Nish and Craig Dargo are both men of many clubs, and their sub appearances reflect that, while Kris Boyd is perhaps a surprising name considering his prolific scoring record.

Shaun Maloney was often called on for cameo roles or to attack tired defences for Celtic, while Jim Hamilton, Mark Burchill and Gary McSwegan played at so many clubs it is hardly surprising they feature so highly. One other point to note is that it is clearly the forward players who are most often brought on, either to chase goals or kill off games. Managers are far more cautious with bringing on defensive minded players. In the list of substitute appearances the highest placed defensive-minded player is James Fowler in 15th place, followed by Richard Foster in 19th. Apart from those two, all of the top twenty are more forward thinking players.

The first pick

The following list is of the top ten outfield players by appearance who have never been used as a substitute. These are the guys that, if fit, are always amongst the first names on the teamsheet. We could well have included goalkeepers, but goalkeepers are far less likely to make substitute appearances unless the incumbent shot-stopper is sent off.

Again it might be interesting to note that the majority of these players are defensive, as managers tend to stick with tried and trusted stalwarts, without the risk of changing their defensive setup. These are players who are unlikely to be taken on as substitutes even if they are on the bench as there is little point in changing a defence unless there is an injury.

David Weir holds the current record for appearances without coming off the bench, but Mark Reynolds could yet overtake that record if he stays in Scotland beyond the end of the season. Lorenzo Amoruso and Rob Jones were defensive stalwarts for Rangers and Hibernian, while Steven Tweed and Mark McLaughlin were equally as vital to their respective teams. James McArthur missed only four SPL games for Hamilton in the two years he was at the club in the top flight.

But what about my club?

The following is a table of the leading SPL super subs for each team that has ever graced our top flight.