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1997–98 Scottish Premier Division

92nd season of top-tier football league in Scotland

Field	Value
competition	Scottish Premier Division
season	1997–98
dates	1 August 1997 – 9 May 1998
winners	Celtic
7th Premier Division title
36th Scottish title
promoted	St Johnstone
relegated	Hibernian
continentalcup1	Champions League
continentalcup1 qualifiers	Celtic
continentalcup2	Cup Winners' Cup
continentalcup2 qualifiers	Heart of Midlothian
continentalcup3	UEFA Cup
continentalcup3 qualifiers	Rangers
Kilmarnock
league topscorer	Marco Negri (32)
total goals	497 ([[Image:Red Arrow Down.svg	12px]]7)
average goals	2.8
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 ([[Image:Green Arrow Up Darker.svg	12px]]842)
prevseason	[1996–97](1996-97-scottish-premier-division)
nextseason	[1998–99](1998-99-scottish-premier-league)

7th Premier Division title 36th Scottish title Kilmarnock 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) 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	SCO Alex Miller
Celtic	NED Wim Jansen
Dundee United	SCO Tommy McLean
Dunfermline Athletic	SCO Bert Paton
Heart of Midlothian	SCO Jim Jefferies
Hibernian	SCO Alex McLeish
Kilmarnock	SCO Bobby Williamson
Motherwell	FIN Harri Kampman
Rangers	SCO Walter Smith
St Johnstone	SCO Paul Sturrock

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Date of vacancy	Manner of departure	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Celtic	SCO Billy Stark	11 May 1997	Caretaker spell ended	NED Wim Jansen	4 July 1997
Aberdeen	SCO Roy Aitken	url=http://www.afcheritage.org/Team/Manager/index.cfm?manager_id=16	publisher=AFC Heritage	access-date=17 February 2018	title=Roy Aitken}}	Sacked	SCO Alex Miller	url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/football-miller-takes-aberdeen-call-1295582.html	archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/football-miller-takes-aberdeen-call-1295582.html	archive-date=2022-05-01	url-access=subscription	newspaper=The Independent	date=22 November 1997	access-date=17 February 2018	title=Miller takes Aberdeen call}}
Hibernian	SCO Jim Duffy	url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-duffy-is-sacked-by-hibernian-1142704.html	archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-duffy-is-sacked-by-hibernian-1142704.html	archive-date=2022-05-01	url-access=subscription	newspaper=The Independent	date=3 February 1998	access-date=17 February 2018	title=Duffy is sacked by Hibernian}}	Sacked	SCO Alex McLeish	11 February 1998
Motherwell	SCO Alex McLeish	11 February 1998	Signed by Hibernian	FIN 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

Results

Matches 1–18

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

Matches 19–36

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

Top scorers

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

Source: Soccerbot

Awards

Player awards

Award	Winner	Club
PFA Players' Player of the Year	SCO	Celtic
PFA Young Player of the Year	SCO	Heart of Midlothian
SFWA Footballer of the Year	SCO	Celtic

Manager awards

Award	Winner	Club
SFWA Manager of the Year	NED	Celtic

References

"1997/98 Scottish Premier Division". Soccerbot.
"Roy Aitken". AFC Heritage.
(22 November 1997). "Miller takes Aberdeen call". [[The Independent]].
(3 February 1998). "Duffy is sacked by Hibernian". [[The Independent]].
(2000-07-20). "Winners against the odds". BBC Sport website.
(1998-05-03). "The Scotland Squad". BBC News & Sport website.

Info: Wikipedia Source

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