# 2009–10 Scottish Premier League

The 2009–10 Scottish Premier League season was the twelfth season of the Scottish Premier League. Rangers were the defending champions and they retained the championship with three games to spare by winning 1–0 against Hibernian at Easter Road on 25 April. The competition began on 15 August 2009 and ended on 9 May 2010.

## Clubs
### Promotion and relegation from 2008–09

Promoted from First Division to Premier League
* St Johnstone
Relegated from Premier League to First Division
* Inverness Caledonian Thistle

### Stadia and locations

| Aberdeen | Celtic | Dundee United | Falkirk |
| Pittodrie Stadium | Celtic Park | Tannadice Park | Falkirk Stadium |
| Capacity: 20,866 | Capacity: 60,411 | Capacity: 14,223 | Capacity: 7,937 |
| Hamilton Academical | AberdeenDundee UnitedFalkirkHamiltonHeartsHibernianKilmarnockRangersSt. JohnstoneSt MirrenCeltic Motherwellclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2009–10 Scottish Premier League | AberdeenDundee UnitedFalkirkHamiltonHeartsHibernianKilmarnockRangersSt. JohnstoneSt MirrenCeltic Motherwellclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2009–10 Scottish Premier League | Heart of Midlothian |
| New Douglas Park | AberdeenDundee UnitedFalkirkHamiltonHeartsHibernianKilmarnockRangersSt. JohnstoneSt MirrenCeltic Motherwellclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2009–10 Scottish Premier League | AberdeenDundee UnitedFalkirkHamiltonHeartsHibernianKilmarnockRangersSt. JohnstoneSt MirrenCeltic Motherwellclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2009–10 Scottish Premier League | Tynecastle Park |
| Capacity: 5,510 | AberdeenDundee UnitedFalkirkHamiltonHeartsHibernianKilmarnockRangersSt. JohnstoneSt MirrenCeltic Motherwellclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2009–10 Scottish Premier League | AberdeenDundee UnitedFalkirkHamiltonHeartsHibernianKilmarnockRangersSt. JohnstoneSt MirrenCeltic Motherwellclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2009–10 Scottish Premier League | Capacity: 17,420 |
| Hibernian | AberdeenDundee UnitedFalkirkHamiltonHeartsHibernianKilmarnockRangersSt. JohnstoneSt MirrenCeltic Motherwellclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2009–10 Scottish Premier League | AberdeenDundee UnitedFalkirkHamiltonHeartsHibernianKilmarnockRangersSt. JohnstoneSt MirrenCeltic Motherwellclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2009–10 Scottish Premier League | Kilmarnock |
| Easter Road | AberdeenDundee UnitedFalkirkHamiltonHeartsHibernianKilmarnockRangersSt. JohnstoneSt MirrenCeltic Motherwellclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2009–10 Scottish Premier League | AberdeenDundee UnitedFalkirkHamiltonHeartsHibernianKilmarnockRangersSt. JohnstoneSt MirrenCeltic Motherwellclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2009–10 Scottish Premier League | Rugby Park |
| Capacity: 16,531 | AberdeenDundee UnitedFalkirkHamiltonHeartsHibernianKilmarnockRangersSt. JohnstoneSt MirrenCeltic Motherwellclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2009–10 Scottish Premier League | AberdeenDundee UnitedFalkirkHamiltonHeartsHibernianKilmarnockRangersSt. JohnstoneSt MirrenCeltic Motherwellclass=notpageimage| Location of teams in 2009–10 Scottish Premier League | Capacity: 17,889 |
| Motherwell | Rangers | St Johnstone | St Mirren |
| Fir Park | Ibrox Stadium | McDiarmid Park | St Mirren Park |
| Capacity: 13,677 | Capacity: 50,817 | Capacity: 10,696 | Capacity: 8,023 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Kit sponsor |
| Aberdeen | Mark McGhee | Nike | Team Recruitment |
| Celtic | Neil Lennon | Nike | Carling |
| Dundee United | Peter Houston | Nike | Carbrini |
| Falkirk | Steven Pressley | Puma | Central Demolition |
| Hamilton Academical | Billy Reid | Nike | Reid Furniture |
| Heart of Midlothian | Jim Jefferies | Umbro | Ukio Bankas |
| Hibernian | John Hughes | Le Coq Sportif | McEwan Fraser |
| Kilmarnock | Jimmy Calderwood | 1869 | Smallworld |
| Motherwell | Craig Brown | Canterbury of New Zealand | JAXX |
| Rangers | Walter Smith | Umbro | Carling |
| St Johnstone | Derek McInnes | Surridge | Taylor Wimpey |
| St Mirren | Gus MacPherson | hummel | Braehead Shopping Centre |

#### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Date of vacancy | Manner of departure | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Aberdeen | Jimmy Calderwood | 24 May 2009 | Resigned | Pre-season | Mark McGhee | 12 June 2009 |
| Celtic | Gordon Strachan | 25 May 2009 | Resigned | Pre-season | Tony Mowbray | 16 June 2009 |
| Hibernian | Mixu Paatelainen | 29 May 2009 | Resigned | Pre-season | John Hughes | 8 June 2009 |
| Falkirk | John Hughes | 8 June 2009 | Signed by Hibernian | Pre-season | Eddie May | 23 June 2009 |
| Motherwell | Mark McGhee | 12 June 2009 | Signed by Aberdeen | Pre-season | Jim Gannon | 27 June 2009 |
| Dundee United | Craig Levein | 23 December 2009 | Signed by Scotland | 4th | Peter Houston | 23 December 2009 (interim) 25 May 2010 (permanent) |
| Motherwell | Jim Gannon | 28 December 2009 | Sacked | 6th | Craig Brown | 29 December 2009(interim) 27 January 2010 (permanent) |
| Kilmarnock | Jim Jefferies | 11 January 2010 | Mutual consent | 11th | Jimmy Calderwood | 14 January 2010 |
| Heart of Midlothian | Csaba László | 29 January 2010 | Sacked | 5th | Jim Jefferies | 29 January 2010 |
| Falkirk | Eddie May | 11 February 2010 | Sacked | 12th | Steven Pressley | 11 February 2010 |
| Celtic | Tony Mowbray | 25 March 2010 | Sacked | 2nd | Neil Lennon | 25 March 2010 (interim) 9 June 2010 (permanent) |

## Events

* 21 April – Inverness Caledonian Thistle won promotion to the Scottish Premier League as First Division champions following a 1–0 defeat for their nearest challengers Dundee against Raith Rovers.
* 25 April – Rangers clinch the championship by winning 1–0 against Hibernian at Easter Road.
* 5 May – The 6–6 draw between Motherwell and Hibernian at Fir Park breaks the SPL record for the most goals scored in a single SPL match.
* 8 May – Falkirk were relegated after goalless draw against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Rangers (C) | 38 | 26 | 9 | 3 | 82 | 28 | +54 | 87 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Celtic | 38 | 25 | 6 | 7 | 75 | 39 | +36 | 81 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Dundee United | 38 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 55 | 47 | +8 | 63 | Qualification for the Europa League play-off round |
| 4 | Hibernian | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 58 | 55 | +3 | 54 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 5 | Motherwell | 38 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 52 | 54 | −2 | 53 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round |
| 6 | Heart of Midlothian | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 35 | 46 | −11 | 48 | |
| 7 | Hamilton Academical | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 39 | 46 | −7 | 49 | |
| 8 | St Johnstone | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 57 | 61 | −4 | 47 | |
| 9 | Aberdeen | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 36 | 52 | −16 | 41 | |
| 10 | St Mirren | 38 | 7 | 13 | 18 | 36 | 49 | −13 | 34 | |
| 11 | Kilmarnock | 38 | 8 | 9 | 21 | 29 | 51 | −22 | 33 | |
| 12 | Falkirk (R) | 38 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 31 | 57 | −26 | 31 | Relegation to the First Division |
* ↑ by winning the Scottish Cup.

## Results
### Matches 1–22

During their first 22 matches, each team played every other team home and away.
| Home \ Away | ABE | CEL | DUN | FAL | HAM | HOM | HIB | KIL | MOT | RAN | STJ | STM |
| Aberdeen | | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Celtic | 1–0 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 5–2 | 3–1 |
| Dundee United | 0–1 | 2–1 | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 3–3 | 3–2 |
| Falkirk | 0–0 | 3–3 | 1–4 | | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–3 |
| Hamilton Academical | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 |
| Heart of Midlothian | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 |
| Hibernian | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 3–0 | 2–1 |
| Kilmarnock | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | | 0–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 |
| Motherwell | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 3–1 | | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 |
| Rangers | 0–0 | 2–1 | 7–1 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 6–1 | | 3–0 | 2–1 |
| St Johnstone | 1–0 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 5–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | | 1–0 |
| St Mirren | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | |

### Matches 23–33

During matches 23–33 each team played every other team once (either at home or away).
| Home \ Away | ABE | CEL | DUN | FAL | HAM | HOM | HIB | KIL | MOT | RAN | STJ | STM |
| Aberdeen | | 4–4 | 2–2 | | | 0–1 | | | 0–3 | | 1–3 | 2–1 |
| Celtic | | | 1–0 | | | 2–0 | | 3–1 | 2–1 | | 3–0 | |
| Dundee United | | | | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | | | 3–0 | 0–0 | | |
| Falkirk | 3–1 | 0–2 | | | | | 1–3 | 0–1 | | | | 2–1 |
| Hamilton Academical | 1–1 | 0–1 | | 2–2 | | | 4–1 | | 0–0 | | 1–0 | |
| Heart of Midlothian | | | | 3–2 | 2–0 | | 2–1 | 1–0 | | 1–4 | | |
| Hibernian | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–4 | | | | | 1–0 | | | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Kilmarnock | 2–0 | | 4–4 | | 1–2 | | | | | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 |
| Motherwell | | | | 0–1 | | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 1–1 | | |
| Rangers | 3–1 | 1–0 | | 3–0 | 1–0 | | 3–0 | | | | | 3–1 |
| St Johnstone | | | 0–1 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | | | 1–2 | 4–1 | | |
| St Mirren | | 4–0 | 1–2 | | 0–0 | 1–1 | | | 0–0 | | 1–1 | |

### Matches 34–38

After 33 matches, the table splits into two groups of six. Each team plays every team in their own half once (either at home or away)

## Attendances

    As of 14:51, 9 May 2010 (UTC) Source: SPL
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | Highest | Lowest | Average |
| Aberdeen | Pittodrie Stadium | 22,199 | 16,803 | 6,097 | 10,461 |
| Celtic | Celtic Park | 60,355 | 58,500 | 24,000 | 45,582 |
| Dundee United | Tannadice Park | 14,209 | 11,100 | 5,598 | 7,821 |
| Falkirk | Falkirk Stadium | 9,706 | 7,049 | 4,321 | 5,635 |
| Hamilton Academical | New Douglas Park | 6,096 | 5,343 | 2,003 | 3,005 |
| Heart of Midlothian | Tynecastle Stadium | 17,420 | 17,126 | 12,325 | 14,484 |
| Hibernian | Easter Road | 17,500 | 16,949 | 9,185 | 12,164 |
| Kilmarnock | Rugby Park | 18,128 | 10,662 | 4,068 | 5,919 |
| Motherwell | Fir Park | 13,742 | 9,355 | 3,544 | 5,307 |
| Rangers | Ibrox Stadium | 51,082 | 50,321 | 44,291 | 47,564 |
| St Johnstone | McDiarmid Park | 10,673 | 7,807 | 2,993 | 4,717 |
| St Mirren | St Mirren Park | 8,016 | 6,164 | 3,009 | 4,414 |

## Goals
### Top scorers

    As of 12:14, 10 May 2010 (UTC) Sources: SPL BBC Archived 6 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
| Rank | Scorer | Team | Goals |
| 1 | Kris Boyd | Rangers | 23 |
| 2 | Anthony Stokes | Hibernian | 21 |
| 3 | Kenny Miller | Rangers | 18 |
| 4 | Jon Daly | Dundee United | 13 |
| 4 | Derek Riordan | Hibernian | 13 |
| 6 | Lukas Jutkiewicz | Motherwell | 12 |
| 6 | Robbie Keane | Celtic | 12 |
| 8 | John Sutton | Motherwell | 11 |
| 9 | Marc-Antoine Fortuné | Celtic | 10 |
| 9 | Scott McDonald | Celtic | 10 |
| 9 | Georgios Samaras | Celtic | 10 |

### Hat-tricks

| Scorer | For | Against | Date |
| Peter MacDonald | St Johnstone | Motherwell | 26 December 2009 |
| Kris Boyd $^5$ | Rangers | Dundee United | 30 December 2009 |
| Jon Daly | Dundee United | Falkirk | 23 January 2010 |
| Colin Nish | Hibernian | Motherwell | 5 May 2010 |
$^5$ player scored 5 goals

## Awards
### Monthly awards

| Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month | Young Player of the Month | Young Player of the Month |
| Month | Manager | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club |
| August | Tony Mowbray | Celtic | Danny Cadamarteri | Dundee United | Ross Forbes | Motherwell |
| September | John Hughes | Hibernian | Derek Riordan | Hibernian | Craig Thomson | Heart of Midlothian |
| October | Jim Gannon | Motherwell | Liam Miller | Hibernian | Lukas Jutkiewicz | Motherwell |
| November | Craig Levein | Dundee United | Andy Webster | Dundee United | Peter Pawlett | Aberdeen |
| December | Walter Smith | Rangers | Kris Boyd | Rangers | Anthony Stokes | Hibernian |
| January | Craig Brown | Motherwell | Steven Davis | Rangers | Fraser Fyvie | Aberdeen |
| February | Craig Brown | Motherwell | David Weir | Rangers | Chris Maguire | Kilmarnock |
| March | Peter Houston | Dundee United | Robbie Keane | Celtic | Ryan Flynn | Falkirk |
| April | Billy Reid | Hamilton Academical | Kenny Miller | Rangers | Graham Carey | St Mirren |

### Clydesdale Bank Premier League Awards

| Award | Recipient |
| Player of the Season | David Weir |
| Manager of the Season | Walter Smith |
| Young Player of the Season | David Goodwillie |
| Goal of the Season | Anthony Stokes |
| Save of the Season | Artur Boruc |
| Under-19 League Player of the Season | Dale Hilson |
| Best Club Media Relations | Motherwell |
| SPL Family Champions | St Mirren |
| Best Community Initiative | Hibernian |