# 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.

## Overview

The 1997–98 Scottish Premier Division season ended in success for Celtic who won by two points from nearest rivals Rangers, beating St Johnstone on the last day to clinch the title. Claiming the trophy would have given Rangers a record-breaking 10 Scottish League Championships 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 Cup Winners' Cup as Scottish Cup winners.
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

| 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 | Sacked | Alex Miller | 21 November 1997 |
| Hibernian | Jim Duffy | 2 February 1998 | 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, returning to action within three months
* 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 |

## 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 | |

### 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 | |

## Top scorers

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