1997–98 Scottish Premier Division

The 1997–98 Scottish Premier Division season was the last season of Scottish Football League Premier Division football before the change to the Scottish Premier League. It began on 1 August 1997.

Scottish Premier Division

Season	1997–98
Dates	1 August 1997 – 9 May 1998
Champions	Celtic
Promoted	St Johnstone
Relegated	Hibernian
Champions League	Celtic
Cup Winners' Cup	Heart of Midlothian
UEFA Cup	Rangers Kilmarnock
Goals scored	497 (7)
Average goals/game	2.8
Top goalscorer	Marco Negri (32)
Biggest home win	Rangers 7–0 Dunfermline (18 Oct)
Biggest away win	Kilmarnock 0–3 Rangers (24 Sep) Kilmarnock 0–3 Heart of Midlothian (27 Sep) Motherwell 1–4 Heart of Midlothian (4 Oct) Aberdeen 1–4 Heart of Midlothian (1 Nov) Heart of Midlothian 2–5 Rangers (20 Dec) Heart of Midlothian 0–3 Rangers (25 Apr)
Highest attendance	50,500, Celtic v St Johnstone (9 May)
Lowest attendance	4,385, St Johnstone v Kilmarnock (13 Dec)
Average attendance	18,036 (842)
← 1996–97 1998–99 →

Overview

The 1997–98 Scottish Premier Division season ended in success for Celtic who won the title by two points from nearest rivals Rangers, beating St Johnstone on the last day to clinch the title. Claiming the title would have given Rangers a record breaking 10 Scottish League Championship in a row (having matched Celtic's record the previous season). Heart of Midlothian ran Celtic and Rangers very close to winning the title, and led for large spells of the season before falling away towards the end of the season. Hibernian were relegated to the First Division after finishing bottom. As champions, Celtic qualified for the Champions League while Rangers were joined by Kilmarnock in qualifying for the UEFA Cup. Third-placed Heart of Midlothian qualified for the last-ever Cup Winners' Cup as Scottish Cup winners.[1]

Rangers were involved in some of the season's big transfers with Lorenzo Amoruso and Marco Negri arriving in multimillion-pound deals. Paul Gascoigne also left the club, heading for Middlesbrough in a £3.5m deal. Negri went on to become only the second player to score five goals in a Scottish Premier Division match, equalling Paul Sturrock's record by netting all five goals in a 5–1 win over Dundee United.

The season began on 2 August with the first goal of the season scored by Dundee United's Kjell Olofsson as they drew 1–1 at newly promoted St Johnstone. The season ended on 9 May with Hibernian's Stevie Crawford netting a last-minute equaliser away to Kilmarnock to score the final goal of the season.

Clubs

Promotion and relegation from 1996–97

Promoted from First Division to Premier League

• St Johnstone

Relegated from Premier Division to First Division

• Raith Rovers

Stadia and locations

Aberdeen

Celtic

Dundee Utd

Dunfermline Athletic

Hearts

Hibernian

Kilmarnock

Motherwell

Rangers

St. Johnstone

Location of clubs in the 1997–98 Scottish Premier Division

Team	Location	Stadium
Aberdeen	Aberdeen	Pittodrie Stadium
Celtic	Parkhead, Glasgow	Celtic Park
Dundee United	Dundee	Tannadice Park
Dunfermline Athletic	Dunfermline	East End Park
Heart of Midlothian	Gorgie, Edinburgh	Tynecastle Park
Hibernian	Leith, Edinburgh	Easter Road
Kilmarnock	Kilmarnock	Rugby Park
Motherwell	Motherwell	Fir Park
Rangers	Ibrox, Glasgow	Ibrox Park
St Johnstone	Perth	McDiarmid Park

Managers

Team	Manager
Aberdeen	Alex Miller
Celtic	Wim Jansen
Dundee United	Tommy McLean
Dunfermline Athletic	Bert Paton
Heart of Midlothian	Jim Jefferies
Hibernian	Alex McLeish
Kilmarnock	Bobby Williamson
Motherwell	Harri Kampman
Rangers	Walter Smith
St Johnstone	Paul Sturrock

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Date of vacancy	Manner of departure	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Celtic	Billy Stark	11 May 1997	Caretaker spell ended	Wim Jansen	4 July 1997
Aberdeen	Roy Aitken	10 November 1997[2]	Sacked	Alex Miller	21 November 1997[3]
Hibernian	Jim Duffy	2 February 1998[4]	Sacked	Alex McLeish	11 February 1998
Motherwell	Alex McLeish	11 February 1998	Signed by Hibernian	Harri Kampman	25 February 1998

Events

• 23 August: Marco Negri equals Paul Sturrock's record with five goals in one match in the 5–1 win over Dundee United
• September: Darren Jackson undergoes surgery for hydrocephalus,[5] returning to action within three months[6]
• 9 May: Celtic win the title after a 2–0 home win over St Johnstone F.C

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Celtic (C)	36	22	8	6	64	24	+40	74	Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round
2	Rangers	36	21	9	6	76	38	+38	72	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first qualifying round
3	Heart of Midlothian	36	19	10	7	70	46	+24	67	Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup qualifying round
4	Kilmarnock	36	13	11	12	40	52	−12	50	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first qualifying round
5	St Johnstone	36	13	9	14	38	42	−4	48
6	Aberdeen	36	9	12	15	39	53	−14	39
7	Dundee United	36	8	13	15	43	51	−8	37
8	Dunfermline Athletic	36	8	13	15	43	68	−25	37
9	Motherwell	36	9	7	20	46	64	−18	34
10	Hibernian (R)	36	6	12	18	38	59	−21	30	Relegation to the First Division

Source: Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated.

Results

Matches 1–18

During matches 1–18 each team plays every other team twice (home and away).

Home \ Away	ABE	CEL	DUN	DNF	HOM	HIB	KIL	MOT	RAN	STJ
Aberdeen		0–2	1–1	1–2	1–4	2–0	0–0	1–3	1–1	1–1
Celtic	2–0		4–0	1–2	1–0	5–0	4–0	0–2	1–1	2–0
Dundee United	5–0	1–2		0–0	0–0	1–1	1–2	4–0	2–1	2–1
Dunfermline Athletic	1–1	0–2	3–3		2–1	2–1	1–1	0–2	0–0	2–2
Heart of Midlothian	4–1	1–2	2–1	3–1		2–0	5–3	2–0	2–5	2–1
Hibernian	2–2	2–1	1–3	5–2	0–1		4–0	1–1	3–4	1–1
Kilmarnock	1–0	0–0	1–3	2–1	0–3	2–1		2–1	0–3	0–1
Motherwell	1–2	2–3	1–0	2–0	1–4	1–1	0–1		1–1	0–1
Rangers	3–3	1–0	5–1	7–0	3–1	1–0	4–1	2–2		3–2
St Johnstone	1–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–2	1–0	1–1	4–3	0–2

Source: Soccerbot
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 19–36

During matches 19–36 each team plays every other team a further two times (home and away).

Home \ Away	ABE	CEL	DUN	DNF	HOM	HIB	KIL	MOT	RAN	STJ
Aberdeen		0–1	1–0	2–0	2–2	3–0	0–0	3–0	1–0	0–1
Celtic	3–1		1–1	5–1	0–0	0–0	4–0	4–1	2–0	2–0
Dundee United	0–0	0–1		2–2	0–1	1–1	1–1	1–0	1–2	0–2
Dunfermline Athletic	3–3	1–1	2–2		1–3	1–1	3–2	2–1	2–3	0–1
Heart of Midlothian	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0		2–2	1–1	1–1	0–3	1–1
Hibernian	1–1	0–1	1–2	1–0	2–1		0–1	1–0	1–2	0–1
Kilmarnock	2–1	1–2	1–0	3–0	2–2	1–1		4–1	1–1	1–0
Motherwell	1–2	1–1	1–0	1–3	2–4	6–2	1–1		1–2	2–1
Rangers	2–0	2–0	4–1	1–1	2–2	1–0	0–1	1–0		2–1
St Johnstone	0–1	1–0	1–1	0–0	2–3	1–1	1–0	3–2	2–0

Source: Soccerbot
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top scorers

Player	Goals	Team
Marco Negri	32	Rangers
Kjell Olofsson	18	Dundee United
Henrik Larsson	16	Celtic
Andy Smith		Dunfermline Athletic
Tommy Coyne	14	Motherwell
Jim Hamilton		Heart of Midlothian
Owen Coyle	11	Motherwell
Jorg Albertz	10	Rangers
Craig Burley		Celtic
Billy Dodds		Aberdeen
Simon Donnelly		Celtic
Neil McCann		Heart of Midlothian
George O'Boyle		St Johnstone
Paul Wright		Kilmarnock

Source: Soccerbot

References

1. "1997/98 Scottish Premier Division". Soccerbot. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
2. "Roy Aitken". AFC Heritage. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
3. "Miller takes Aberdeen call". The Independent. 22 November 1997. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
4. "Duffy is sacked by Hibernian". The Independent. 3 February 1998. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
5. "Winners against the odds". BBC Sport website. 2000-07-20.
6. "The Scotland Squad". BBC News & Sport website. 1998-05-03. Retrieved 2008-06-03.