# 2023–24 Scottish Premiership

The 2023–24 Scottish Premiership (known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the eleventh season of the Scottish Premiership, the highest division of Scottish football, and the 127th edition overall of the top national league competition, not including one cancelled due to World War II. The season began on 5 August 2023.
On 15 May, Celtic successfully defended their title, securing a tenth Premiership title and 54th Scottish league title overall, following a 5–0 victory away to Kilmarnock.
Twelve teams contested the league: Aberdeen, Celtic, Dundee, Heart of Midlothian, Hibernian, Kilmarnock, Livingston, Motherwell, Rangers, Ross County, St Johnstone and St Mirren.

## Teams

The following teams changed division after the 2022–23 season.
Promoted from the Championship
* Dundee
Relegated to the Championship
* Dundee United

### Stadia and locations

| Aberdeen | Celtic | Dundee | Heart of Midlothian |
| Pittodrie Stadium | Celtic Park | Dens Park | Tynecastle Park |
| Capacity: 20,866 | Capacity: 60,411 | Capacity: 11,775 | Capacity: 19,852 |
| Hibernian | EdinburghGlasgowAberdeenDundeeKilmarnockMotherwellRoss CountySt. JohnstoneSt MirrenLivingstonEdinburgh teams: Hearts HibernianGlasgow teams: Celtic Rangersclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in the 2023–24 Scottish Premiership | EdinburghGlasgowAberdeenDundeeKilmarnockMotherwellRoss CountySt. JohnstoneSt MirrenLivingstonEdinburgh teams: Hearts HibernianGlasgow teams: Celtic Rangersclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in the 2023–24 Scottish Premiership | Kilmarnock |
| Easter Road | EdinburghGlasgowAberdeenDundeeKilmarnockMotherwellRoss CountySt. JohnstoneSt MirrenLivingstonEdinburgh teams: Hearts HibernianGlasgow teams: Celtic Rangersclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in the 2023–24 Scottish Premiership | EdinburghGlasgowAberdeenDundeeKilmarnockMotherwellRoss CountySt. JohnstoneSt MirrenLivingstonEdinburgh teams: Hearts HibernianGlasgow teams: Celtic Rangersclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in the 2023–24 Scottish Premiership | Rugby Park |
| Capacity: 20,421 | EdinburghGlasgowAberdeenDundeeKilmarnockMotherwellRoss CountySt. JohnstoneSt MirrenLivingstonEdinburgh teams: Hearts HibernianGlasgow teams: Celtic Rangersclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in the 2023–24 Scottish Premiership | EdinburghGlasgowAberdeenDundeeKilmarnockMotherwellRoss CountySt. JohnstoneSt MirrenLivingstonEdinburgh teams: Hearts HibernianGlasgow teams: Celtic Rangersclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in the 2023–24 Scottish Premiership | Capacity: 15,003 |
| Livingston | EdinburghGlasgowAberdeenDundeeKilmarnockMotherwellRoss CountySt. JohnstoneSt MirrenLivingstonEdinburgh teams: Hearts HibernianGlasgow teams: Celtic Rangersclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in the 2023–24 Scottish Premiership | EdinburghGlasgowAberdeenDundeeKilmarnockMotherwellRoss CountySt. JohnstoneSt MirrenLivingstonEdinburgh teams: Hearts HibernianGlasgow teams: Celtic Rangersclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in the 2023–24 Scottish Premiership | Motherwell |
| Almondvale Stadium | EdinburghGlasgowAberdeenDundeeKilmarnockMotherwellRoss CountySt. JohnstoneSt MirrenLivingstonEdinburgh teams: Hearts HibernianGlasgow teams: Celtic Rangersclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in the 2023–24 Scottish Premiership | EdinburghGlasgowAberdeenDundeeKilmarnockMotherwellRoss CountySt. JohnstoneSt MirrenLivingstonEdinburgh teams: Hearts HibernianGlasgow teams: Celtic Rangersclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in the 2023–24 Scottish Premiership | Fir Park |
| Capacity: 9,713 | EdinburghGlasgowAberdeenDundeeKilmarnockMotherwellRoss CountySt. JohnstoneSt MirrenLivingstonEdinburgh teams: Hearts HibernianGlasgow teams: Celtic Rangersclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in the 2023–24 Scottish Premiership | EdinburghGlasgowAberdeenDundeeKilmarnockMotherwellRoss CountySt. JohnstoneSt MirrenLivingstonEdinburgh teams: Hearts HibernianGlasgow teams: Celtic Rangersclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in the 2023–24 Scottish Premiership | Capacity: 13,677 |
| Rangers | Ross County | St Johnstone | St Mirren |
| Ibrox Stadium | Victoria Park | McDiarmid Park | St Mirren Park |
| Capacity: 50,987 | Capacity: 6,541 | Capacity: 10,696 | Capacity: 7,937 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Aberdeen | Peter Leven (Interim) | Graeme Shinnie | Adidas | TEXO |
| Celtic | Brendan Rodgers | Callum McGregor | Adidas | Dafabet |
| Dundee | Tony Docherty | Joe Shaughnessy | Macron | Crown Engineering Services |
| Heart of Midlothian | Steven Naismith | Craig Gordon | Umbro | MND Scotland (Home) Stellar Omada (Away) |
| Hibernian | David Gray (Interim) | Paul Hanlon | Joma | Bevvy.com |
| Kilmarnock | Derek McInnes | Kyle Vassell | Hummel | James Frew Ltd |
| Livingston | David Martindale | Mikey Devlin | Joma | Emptez |
| Motherwell | Stuart Kettlewell | Liam Kelly | Macron | G4 Claims |
| Rangers | Philippe Clement | James Tavernier | Castore | Unibet |
| Ross County | Don Cowie (Interim) | Jack Baldwin | Joma | Ross-shire Engineering |
| St Johnstone | Craig Levein | Liam Gordon | Macron | GS Brown Construction |
| St Mirren | Stephen Robinson | Mark O'Hara | Macron | Digby Brown |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Dundee | Gary Bowyer | End of contract | 10 May 2023 | Pre-season | Tony Docherty | 29 May 2023 |
| Celtic | Ange Postecoglou | Signed by Tottenham Hotspur | 6 June 2023 | Pre-season | Brendan Rodgers | 19 June 2023 |
| Hibernian | Lee Johnson | Sacked | 27 August 2023 | 12th | Nick Montgomery | 11 September 2023 |
| Rangers | Michael Beale | Sacked | 1 October 2023 | 3rd | Philippe Clement | 15 October 2023 |
| St Johnstone | Steven MacLean | Sacked | 29 October 2023 | 12th | Craig Levein | 5 November 2023 |
| Ross County | Malky Mackay | Sacked | 15 November 2023 | 11th | Derek Adams | 20 November 2023 |
| Aberdeen | Barry Robson | Sacked | 31 January 2024 | 8th | Neil Warnock | 5 February 2024 |
| Ross County | Derek Adams | Resigned | 7 February 2024 | 11th | Don Cowie (Interim) | 8 February 2024 |
| Aberdeen | Neil Warnock | Resigned | 9 March 2024 | 10th | Peter Leven (Interim) | 9 March 2024 |
| Hibernian | Nick Montgomery | Sacked | 14 May 2024 | 9th | David Gray (Interim) | 14 May 2024 |

## Format

In the initial phase of the season, the 12 teams will play a round-robin tournament whereby each team plays each of the other teams three times. After 33 games, the league splits into two sections of six teams, with each team playing each other once in that section. The league attempts to balance the fixture list so that teams in the same section play each other twice at home and twice away, but sometimes this is impossible. A total of 228 matches were be played, with 38 matches played by each team.

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Celtic (C) | 38 | 29 | 6 | 3 | 95 | 30 | +65 | 93 | Qualification for the Champions League league stage |
| 2 | Rangers | 38 | 27 | 4 | 7 | 87 | 32 | +55 | 85 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Heart of Midlothian | 38 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 54 | 42 | +12 | 68 | Qualification for the Europa League play-off round |
| 4 | Kilmarnock | 38 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 46 | 44 | +2 | 56 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round |
| 5 | St Mirren | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 46 | 52 | −6 | 47 | Qualification for the Conference League second qualifying round |
| 6 | Dundee | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 49 | 68 | −19 | 42 | |
| 7 | Aberdeen | 38 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 48 | 52 | −4 | 48 | |
| 8 | Hibernian | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 52 | 59 | −7 | 46 | |
| 9 | Motherwell | 38 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 56 | 59 | −3 | 43 | |
| 10 | St Johnstone | 38 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 29 | 54 | −25 | 35 | |
| 11 | Ross County (O) | 38 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 38 | 67 | −29 | 35 | Qualification for the Premiership play-off final |
| 12 | Livingston (R) | 38 | 5 | 10 | 23 | 29 | 70 | −41 | 25 | Relegation to Championship |
* ↑ Teams play each other three times (33 matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).
* ↑ As the winners of the 2023–24 Scottish Cup, Celtic, qualified for the Champions League, the berth reserved for the cup winners (Europa League play-off round) passed to the third-placed team. The berths for the Europa League second qualifying round and the Conference League second qualifying round were passed down to the fourth- and fifth-placed teams.

## Results
### Matches 34–38

After 33 matches, the league was split into two sections of six teams, i.e. the top six and the bottom six, with the teams playing every other team in their section once (either at home or away). The exact matches were determined by the position of the teams in the league table at the time of the split.

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Lawrence Shankland | Heart of Midlothian | 24 |
| 2 | Matt O'Riley | Celtic | 18 |
| 3 | James Tavernier | Rangers | 17 |
| 4 | Bojan Miovski | Aberdeen | 16 |
| 4 | Cyriel Dessers | Rangers | 16 |
| 6 | Theo Bair | Motherwell | 15 |
| 7 | Kyogo Furuhashi | Celtic | 14 |
| 7 | Simon Murray | Ross County | 14 |
| 9 | Abdallah Sima | Rangers | 11 |
| 10 | Luke McCowan | Dundee | 10 |
| 10 | Myziane Maolida | Hibernian | 10 |
Source:

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Jack Butland | Rangers | 18 |
| 2 | Joe Hart | Celtic | 15 |
| 2 | Zander Clark | Heart of Midlothian | 15 |
| 4 | Will Dennis | Kilmarnock | 14 |
| 5 | Kelle Roos | Aberdeen | 10 |
| 5 | Zach Hemming | St Mirren | 10 |
| 7 | David Marshall | Hibernian | 9 |
| 8 | Trevor Carson | Dundee | 8 |
| 8 | Dimitar Mitov | St Johnstone | 8 |
| 10 | Shamal George | Livingston | 7 |
Source:

## Awards

| Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month |
| Month | Manager | Club | Player | Club |
| August | Stephen Robinson | St Mirren | Ryan Strain | St Mirren |
| September | Brendan Rodgers | Celtic | Matt O'Riley | Celtic |
| October | Derek McInnes | Kilmarnock | Abdallah Sima | Rangers |
| November | Steven Naismith | Heart of Midlothian | Lawrence Shankland | Heart of Midlothian |
| December | Derek McInnes | Kilmarnock | Lawrence Shankland | Heart of Midlothian |
| January | Philippe Clement | Rangers | Alan Forrest | Heart of Midlothian |
| February | Philippe Clement | Rangers | Blair Spittal | Motherwell |
| March | Tony Docherty | Dundee | Myziane Maolida | Hibernian |
| April | Brendan Rodgers | Celtic | Luke McCowan | Dundee |
The SPFL Premiership manager of the year was Derek McInnes of Kilmarnock.
The SPFL Premiership player of the year was Lawrence Shankland of Heart of Midlothian.

## Premiership play-offs

The quarter-final was contested by the teams placed third and fourth in the 2023–24 Scottish Championship, Partick Thistle and Airdrieonians. Partick Thistle advanced to the semi-final to face the team placed second in the Championship, Raith Rovers. The final was contested by Raith Rovers and the team placed eleventh in the Premiership, Ross County, who won the tie to secure a place in the 2024–25 Scottish Premiership.

### Qualified teams

| Team | Rank |
| Ross County | 1 |
| Raith Rovers | 2 |
| Partick Thistle | 3 |
| Airdrieonians | 4 |

### Final
#### First leg
#### Second leg
## Attendances

Celtic FC drew the highest average home attendance in the 2023-24 edition of the Scottish Premiership.
| # | Football club | Home games | Average attendance |
| 1 | Celtic FC | 19 | 58,827 |
| 2 | Rangers FC | 19 | 49,141 |
| 3 | Heart of Midlothian | 19 | 18,406 |
| 4 | Hibernian FC | 19 | 16,808 |
| 5 | Aberdeen FC | 19 | 16,055 |
| 6 | Dundee FC | 19 | 6,965 |
| 7 | St. Mirren FC | 19 | 6,646 |
| 8 | Kilmarnock FC | 19 | 6,523 |
| 9 | Motherwell FC | 19 | 5,699 |
| 10 | St. Johnstone FC | 19 | 4,547 |
| 11 | Ross County FC | 19 | 4,302 |
| 12 | Livingston FC | 19 | 3,582 |