# 1995–96 in Scottish football

The 1995–96 season was the 99th season of competitive football in Scotland.

## Scottish Premier Division
### Summary

Rangers won the Premier Division with a record 87 points, finishing four ahead of rivals Celtic. Aberdeen were third with 55 points (on goal difference).
Falkirk were relegated after finishing bottom. Partick Thistle were relegated via the play-offs, losing 3–2 on aggregate to Dundee United, who returned to the Premier Division at the first attempt. This was the only occasion on which this short-lived play-off system relegated a team from the Premier Division.
Rangers qualified for the European Cup, with Celtic and Aberdeen making it into the UEFA Cup. All three clubs entered at the qualifying round stage.
Celtic's Pierre van Hooijdonk was the top scorer with 26 goals, ahead of the Rangers trio of Gordon Durie (17), Ally McCoist (16) and Paul Gascoigne (14).
Rangers recorded the biggest win of the campaign with a 7–0 home win over Hibernian, with Gordon Durie scoring four times. Incredibly, Hibs had won 1–0 at Ibrox just three months earlier, and Hearts won 3–0 there just three weeks after the 7–0 match.
Celtic went 31 games unbeaten, from 4 October to the end of the season. Motherwell had the best winning run with five consecutive successes, while Falkirk lost eight in a row.
Meadowbank Thistle, who had been relegated from the Second Division, were renamed Livingston to reflect their relocation from Edinburgh to Livingston for this season. The renamed club ended the season as Third Division champions.

### Table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Rangers (C) | 36 | 27 | 6 | 3 | 85 | 25 | +60 | 87 | Qualification for the Champions League qualifying round |
| 2 | Celtic | 36 | 24 | 11 | 1 | 74 | 25 | +49 | 83 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup qualifying round |
| 3 | Aberdeen | 36 | 16 | 7 | 13 | 52 | 45 | +7 | 55 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup qualifying round |
| 4 | Heart of Midlothian | 36 | 16 | 7 | 13 | 55 | 53 | +2 | 55 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup qualifying round |
| 5 | Hibernian | 36 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 43 | 57 | −14 | 43 | |
| 6 | Raith Rovers | 36 | 12 | 7 | 17 | 41 | 57 | −16 | 43 | |
| 7 | Kilmarnock | 36 | 11 | 8 | 17 | 39 | 54 | −15 | 41 | |
| 8 | Motherwell | 36 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 28 | 39 | −11 | 39 | |
| 9 | Partick Thistle (R) | 36 | 8 | 6 | 22 | 29 | 62 | −33 | 30 | Qualification for the Play-off |
| 10 | Falkirk (R) | 36 | 6 | 6 | 24 | 31 | 60 | −29 | 24 | Relegation to the First Division |
* ↑ Aberdeen qualified for the UEFA Cup by winning the League Cup.
* ↑ As Rangers, the winners of the Scottish Cup, qualified for the Champions League via their league position, the place in the Cup Winners' Cup was passed to the cup runner-up, Heart of Midlothian.
Champions: Rangers Relegated: Partick Thistle, Falkirk

## Scottish League Division One

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Dunfermline Athletic (C, P) | 36 | 21 | 8 | 7 | 73 | 41 | +32 | 71 | Promotion to the Premier Division |
| 2 | Dundee United (P) | 36 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 73 | 37 | +36 | 67 | Qualification for the Play-off |
| 3 | Greenock Morton | 36 | 20 | 7 | 9 | 57 | 39 | +18 | 67 | |
| 4 | St Johnstone | 36 | 19 | 8 | 9 | 60 | 36 | +24 | 65 | |
| 5 | Dundee | 36 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 53 | 40 | +13 | 57 | |
| 6 | St Mirren | 36 | 13 | 8 | 15 | 46 | 51 | −5 | 47 | |
| 7 | Clydebank | 36 | 10 | 10 | 16 | 39 | 58 | −19 | 40 | |
| 8 | Airdrieonians | 36 | 9 | 11 | 16 | 43 | 54 | −11 | 38 | |
| 9 | Hamilton Academical (R) | 36 | 10 | 6 | 20 | 40 | 57 | −17 | 36 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 10 | Dumbarton (R) | 36 | 3 | 2 | 31 | 23 | 94 | −71 | 11 | Relegation to the Second Division |
Promoted: Dunfermline Athletic, Dundee United Relegated: Hamilton Academical, Dumbarton

## Scottish League Division Two

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Stirling Albion (C, P) | 36 | 24 | 9 | 3 | 83 | 30 | +53 | 81 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 2 | East Fife (P) | 36 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 50 | 29 | +21 | 67 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 3 | Berwick Rangers | 36 | 18 | 6 | 12 | 64 | 47 | +17 | 60 | |
| 4 | Stenhousemuir | 36 | 14 | 7 | 15 | 51 | 49 | +2 | 49 | |
| 5 | Clyde | 36 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 47 | 45 | +2 | 45 | |
| 6 | Ayr United | 36 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 40 | 40 | 0 | 45 | |
| 7 | Queen of the South | 36 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 54 | 67 | −13 | 43 | |
| 8 | Stranraer | 36 | 8 | 18 | 10 | 38 | 43 | −5 | 42 | |
| 9 | Forfar Athletic (R) | 36 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 37 | 61 | −24 | 40 | Relegation to the Third Division |
| 10 | Montrose (R) | 36 | 5 | 5 | 26 | 33 | 86 | −53 | 20 | Relegation to the Third Division |
Promoted: Stirling Albion, East Fife Relegated: Forfar Athletic, Montrose

## Scottish League Division Three

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | Livingston (C, P) | 36 | 21 | 9 | 6 | 51 | 24 | +27 | 72 | Promotion to the Second Division |
| 2 | Brechin City (P) | 36 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 41 | 21 | +20 | 63 | Promotion to the Second Division |
| 3 | Caledonian Thistle | 36 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 64 | 38 | +26 | 57 | |
| 4 | Ross County | 36 | 12 | 17 | 7 | 56 | 39 | +17 | 53 | |
| 5 | Arbroath | 36 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 41 | 41 | 0 | 52 | |
| 6 | Queen's Park | 36 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 40 | 43 | −3 | 48 | |
| 7 | East Stirlingshire | 36 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 58 | 62 | −4 | 44 | |
| 8 | Cowdenbeath | 36 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 45 | 59 | −14 | 38 | |
| 9 | Alloa Athletic | 36 | 6 | 11 | 19 | 26 | 58 | −32 | 29 | |
| 10 | Albion Rovers | 36 | 7 | 8 | 21 | 37 | 74 | −37 | 29 | |
Promoted: Livingston, Brechin City

## Other honours
### Cup honours

Rangers won the Scottish Cup, beating Hearts 5–1 in the final, with Gordon Durie scoring a second half hat-trick.
The Coca-Cola Cup went to Aberdeen, who beat Dundee 2–0 to win the trophy for the sixth time.
The Challenge Cup was won by Stenhousemuir, who beat Dundee United on penalties after a 0–0 draw. United never conceded a goal in the competition.
| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Report |
| Scottish Cup 1995–96 | Rangers | 5 – 1 | Heart of Midlothian | Wikipedia article |
| League Cup 1995–96 | Aberdeen | 2 – 0 | Dundee | Wikipedia article |
| Challenge Cup 1995–96 | Stenhousemuir | 0 – 0 (a.e.t.) (5 – 4 pen.) | Dundee United | Wikipedia article |
| Youth Cup | Celtic | 4 – 1 | Dundee | |
| Junior Cup | Tayport | 2 – 0 (a.e.t.) | Camelon | |

### Individual honours
#### SPFA awards

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Players' Player of the Year | Paul Gascoigne | Rangers |
| Young Player of the Year | Jackie McNamara | Celtic |

#### SFWA awards

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Footballer of the Year | Paul Gascoigne | Rangers |
| Manager of the Year | Walter Smith | Rangers |

## Scottish clubs in Europe

| Club | Competition(s) | Final round | Coef. |
| Rangers | UEFA Champions League | Group stage | 5.50 |
| Celtic | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | Second round | 4.00 |
| Raith Rovers | UEFA Cup | Second round | 3.50 |
| Motherwell | UEFA Cup | Preliminary round | 1.00 |
Average coefficient - 3.500

## Scotland national team

Scotland recorded home wins over Greece, Finland and San Marino between August and November in the European Championship qualifiers to secure qualification, keeping a clean sheet in each match. The final three friendly matches before Euro 96 were lost, including two just two weeks before the first match.
In the competition, Scotland battled to a 0–0 draw in the opener against the Netherlands at Villa Park. They were then beaten 2–0 at Wembley by hosts England in the second group match. During this match Gary McAllister had a penalty kick saved by David Seaman when the score was 1–0 to England. Moments later, Paul Gascoigne scored one of the great Wembley goals to make the score 2–0 and effectively win the match.
Going into the final match at Villa Park, Scotland had to beat Switzerland and hope that England beat the Netherlands, while also needing a five-goal swing in their favour. A goal by Ally McCoist put Scotland on their way to a 1–0 victory and with England leading 4–0 against the Dutch, Scotland were going through. But Patrick Kluivert scored a 78th-minute goal against England, which was enough to send Craig Brown's squad out of the tournament on goals scored (goal difference was tied).
| Date | Venue | Opponents | Score | Competition | Scotland scorer(s) |
| 16 August 1995 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Greece | 1–0 | ECQG8 | Ally McCoist |
| 6 September 1995 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Finland | 1–0 | ECQG8 | Scott Booth |
| 11 October 1995 | Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm (A) | Sweden | 0–2 | Friendly | |
| 15 November 1995 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | San Marino | 5–0 | ECQG8 | Eoin Jess, Scott Booth, Ally McCoist, Pat Nevin, own goal |
| 27 March 1996 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Australia | 1–0 | Friendly | Ally McCoist |
| 24 April 1996 | Parken Stadium, Copenhagen (A) | Denmark | 0–2 | Friendly | |
| 26 May 1996 | Veteran's Stadium, New Britain, Connecticut (A) | USA | 1–2 | Friendly | Gordon Durie |
| 29 May 1996 | Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida (A) | Colombia | 0–1 | Friendly | |
| 10 June 1996 | Villa Park, Birmingham (N) | Netherlands | 0–0 | ECGA | |
| 15 June 1996 | Wembley Stadium, London (N) | England | 0–2 | ECGA | |
| 18 June 1996 | Villa Park, Birmingham (N) | Switzerland | 1–0 | ECGA | Ally McCoist |
Key:
* (H) = Home match
* (A) = Away match
* ECQ8 = European Championship qualifying - Group 8
* ECGA = European Championship - Group A