2022–23 Scottish Premiership
Football league in Scotland
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The 2022–23 Scottish Premiership (known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the tenth season of the Scottish Premiership, the highest division of Scottish football, and the 126th edition overall of the top national league competition, not including one cancelled due to World War II. The season began on 30 July 2022.[1]
9th Premiership title
53rd Scottish title
| Season | 2022–23 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 30 July 2022 – 28 May 2023 |
| Champions | Celtic 9th Premiership title 53rd Scottish title |
| Relegated | Dundee United |
| Champions League | Celtic Rangers |
| Europa League | Aberdeen |
| Europa Conference League | Heart of Midlothian Hibernian |
| Matches | 228 |
| Goals | 670 (2.94 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Kyogo Furuhashi (27 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Hibernian 6–0 Aberdeen (28 January 2023) |
| Biggest away win | Dundee United 0–9 Celtic (28 August 2022) |
| Highest scoring | Dundee United 0–9 Celtic (28 August 2022) |
| Longest winning run | Celtic 12 games |
| Longest unbeaten run | Celtic 27 games |
| Longest winless run | Dundee United Motherwell 11 games |
| Longest losing run | Dundee United St Johnstone 6 games |
| Highest attendance | 59,621 Celtic 3–2 Rangers (8 April 2023) |
| Lowest attendance | 1,283 Livingston 2–1 Ross County (18 March 2023) |
| Total attendance | 3,826,451 |
| Average attendance | 16,782 |
← 2021–22 2023–24 → | |
On 7 May, Celtic successfully defended their title, securing a ninth Premiership title and 53rd Scottish league title overall, following a 2–0 victory over Heart of Midlothian.[2][3]
Twelve teams contested the league: Aberdeen, Celtic, Dundee United, Heart of Midlothian, Hibernian, Kilmarnock, Livingston, Motherwell, Rangers, Ross County, St Johnstone and St Mirren.
Teams
The following teams changed division after the 2021–22 season.
Promoted from the Championship
Relegated to the Championship
Stadia and locations
| Aberdeen | Celtic | Dundee United | Heart of Midlothian |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pittodrie Stadium | Celtic Park | Tannadice Park | Tynecastle Park |
| Capacity: 20,866[4] | Capacity: 60,411[5] | Capacity: 14,223[6] | Capacity: 19,852[7] |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Hibernian |   Location of teams in the 2022–23 Scottish Premiership |
Kilmarnock | |
| Easter Road | Rugby Park | ||
| Capacity: 20,421[8] | Capacity: 15,003[9][10] | ||
 |
 | ||
| Livingston | Motherwell | ||
| Almondvale Stadium | Fir Park | ||
| Capacity: 9,713[11] | Capacity: 13,677[12] | ||
 |
 | ||
| Rangers | Ross County | St Johnstone | St Mirren |
| Ibrox Stadium | Victoria Park | McDiarmid Park | St Mirren Park |
| Capacity: 50,987[13] | Capacity: 6,541[14] | Capacity: 10,696[15] | Capacity: 7,937[16] |
 |
 |
 |
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Personnel and kits
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen |  Barry Robson |
Graeme Shinnie |
Adidas | TEXO |
| Celtic |  Ange Postecoglou |
Callum McGregor |
Adidas | Dafabet |
| Dundee United |  Jim Goodwin |
 Ryan Edwards |
Macron | QuinnBet |
| Heart of Midlothian | Steven Naismith (interim) |
Craig Gordon |
Umbro | MND Scotland (Home) Stellar Omada (Away) |
| Hibernian | Lee Johnson |
David Marshall |
Joma | Utilita |
| Kilmarnock | Derek McInnes |
Alan Power |
Hummel | Brownings The Bakers |
| Livingston | David Martindale |
Nicky Devlin |
Joma | Phoenix Drilling Ltd |
| Motherwell | Stuart Kettlewell |
Stephen O'Donnell |
Macron | Paycare |
| Rangers | Michael Beale |
James Tavernier |
Castore | 32Red (Home and Away) Unibet (3rd) |
| Ross County | Malky Mackay |
Jack Baldwin |
Joma | Ross-shire Engineering |
| St Johnstone | Steven MacLean |
Liam Gordon |
Macron | Binn Group |
| St Mirren |  Stephen Robinson |
Joe Shaughnessy |
Joma | Digby Brown |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hibernian | David Gray |
End of caretaker spell | 15 May 2022[17] | Pre-season | Lee Johnson |
19 May 2022[18] |
| Dundee United | Tam Courts |
Mutual consent | 14 June 2022[19] | Jack Ross |
20 June 2022[20] | |
| Motherwell | Graham Alexander |
29 July 2022[21] | Steven Hammell[note 1] |
29 July 2022[21][22] | ||
| Dundee United | Jack Ross |
Sacked | 30 August 2022[23] | 12th | Liam Fox[note 2] |
30 August 2022[23][24] |
| Rangers |  Giovanni van Bronckhorst |
21 November 2022[25] | 2nd | Michael Beale |
28 November 2022[26] | |
| Aberdeen | Jim Goodwin |
28 January 2023[27] | 7th | Barry Robson[note 3] |
29 January 2023[28][29] | |
| Motherwell | Steven Hammell |
11 February 2023[30] | 11th | Stuart Kettlewell[note 4] |
11 February 2023[30][31] | |
| Dundee United | Liam Fox |
Mutual consent | 26 February 2023[32] | 12th | Jim Goodwin |
1 March 2023[33] |
| Heart of Midlothian | Robbie Neilson |
Sacked | 9 April 2023[34] | 4th | Steven Naismith (interim) |
10 April 2023[35] |
| St Johnstone | Callum Davidson |
Mutual consent | 16 April 2023[36] | 9th | Steven MacLean[note 5] |
16 April 2023[36][37] |
Format
In the initial phase of the season, the 12 teams played a round-robin tournament whereby each team plays each one of the other teams three times. After 33 games, the league split into two sections of six teams, with each team playing each other 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 played, with 38 matches played by each team.
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celtic (C) | 38 | 32 | 3 | 3 | 114 | 34 | +80 | 99 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Rangers | 38 | 29 | 5 | 4 | 93 | 37 | +56 | 92 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Aberdeen | 38 | 18 | 3 | 17 | 56 | 60 | −4 | 57 | Qualification for the Europa League play-off round |
| 4 | Heart of Midlothian | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 63 | 57 | +6 | 54 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League third qualifying round |
| 5 | Hibernian | 38 | 15 | 7 | 16 | 57 | 59 | −2 | 52 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round |
| 6 | St Mirren | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 43 | 61 | −18 | 46 | |
| 7 | Motherwell | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 53 | 51 | +2 | 50 | |
| 8 | Livingston | 38 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 36 | 60 | −24 | 46 | |
| 9 | St Johnstone | 38 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 41 | 59 | −18 | 43 | |
| 10 | Kilmarnock | 38 | 11 | 7 | 20 | 37 | 62 | −25 | 40 | |
| 11 | Ross County (O) | 38 | 9 | 7 | 22 | 37 | 60 | −23 | 34 | Qualification for the Premiership play-off final |
| 12 | Dundee United (R) | 38 | 8 | 7 | 23 | 40 | 70 | −30 | 31 | Relegation to Championship |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-Head points; 5) Head-to-Head goal difference; 6) Play-off (only if deciding champion, UEFA competitions qualification, second stage group allocation or relegation).[40]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- Teams play each other three times (33 matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).
Results
Matches 1–22Teams play each other twice, once at home and once away. |
Matches 23–33Teams play each other once, either home or away.
|
Matches 34–38
After 33 matches, the league splits 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 are determined by the position of the teams in the league table at the time of the split.
Top six |
Bottom six
|
Season statistics
Scoring
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kyogo Furuhashi |
Celtic | 27 |
| 2 | Kevin van Veen |
Motherwell | 25 |
| 3 | Lawrence Shankland |
Heart of Midlothian | 24 |
| 4 |  Duk |
Aberdeen | 16 |
 Bojan Miovski |
Aberdeen | ||
| James Tavernier |
Rangers | ||
| 7 |  Antonio Čolak |
Rangers | 14 |
| 8 | Josh Ginnelly |
Heart of Midlothian | 12 |
| Kevin Nisbet |
Hibernian | ||
 Fashion Sakala |
Rangers |
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Score | Date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyogo Furuhashi |
Celtic | Dundee United | 9–0 (A) | 28 August 2022 | [43] |
 Liel Abada | |||||
| Kevin van Veen |
Motherwell | Ross County | 5–0 (A) | 4 October 2022 | [44] |
| James Forrest |
Celtic | Hibernian | 6–1 (H) | 15 October 2022 | [45] |
| Lawrence Shankland |
Heart of Midlothian | Celtic | 3–4 (H) | 22 October 2022 | [46] |
| Kevin Nisbet |
Hibernian | Motherwell | 3–2 (A) | 8 January 2023 | [47] |
| Josh Campbell |
Aberdeen | 6–0 (H) | 28 January 2023 | [48] | |
| Lawrence Shankland |
Heart of Midlothian | Ross County | 6–1 (H) | 22 April 2023 | [49] |
| Jordan White |
Ross County | Dundee United | 3–1 (A) | 13 May 2023 | [50] |
Clean sheets
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe Hart |
Celtic | 16 |
| 2 | Kelle Roos |
Aberdeen | 13 |
| 3 | David Marshall |
Hibernian | 11 |
| Liam Kelly |
Motherwell | ||
| 5 | Trevor Carson |
St Mirren | 10 |
| 6 | Ross Laidlaw |
Ross County | 9 |
| 7 | Allan McGregor |
Rangers | 8 |
| 8 | Shamal George |
Livingston | 7 |
| 9 | Sam Walker |
Kilmarnock | 6 |
| Remi Matthews |
St Johnstone |
Source:[51]
Attendances
These are the average attendances of the teams.
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celtic | 1,116,725 | 59,621 | 58,295 | 58,775 | +1.6% |
| 2 | Rangers | 933,207 | 50,104 | 46,961 | 49,116 | −0.3% |
| 3 | Heart of Midlothian | 351,978 | 18,980 | 18,081 | 18,525 | +6.6% |
| 4 | Hibernian | 331,926 | 20,179 | 13,930 | 17,469 | +12.8% |
| 5 | Aberdeen | 297,087 | 18,666 | 13,014 | 15,636 | +20.9% |
| 6 | Dundee United | 179,768 | 12,599 | 7,430 | 9,461 | +23.7% |
| 7 | Kilmarnock[a] | 123,253 | 9,162 | 4,463 | 6,487 | +30.1% |
| 8 | St Mirren | 121,610 | 7,937 | 4,557 | 6,400 | +29.7% |
| 9 | Motherwell | 112,080 | 8,610 | 4,131 | 5,898 | +4.4% |
| 10 | St Johnstone | 101,081 | 7,758 | 2,899 | 5,320 | +18.1% |
| 11 | Ross County | 82,978 | 6,690 | 2,568 | 4,367 | +7.7% |
| 12 | Livingston | 75,748 | 9,672 | 1,283 | 3,986 | +8.9% |
| League total | 3,826,451 | 59,621 | 1,283 | 16,782 | +6.2% |
- Club was playing in the Scottish Championship in the previous season.
Awards
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | |
| August | Ange Postecoglou |
Celtic | Kyogo Furuhashi |
Celtic |
| September/October | Antonio Čolak |
Rangers | ||
| November | David Martindale |
Livingston |  Sead Hakšabanović |
Celtic |
| December | Michael Beale |
Rangers | Kyogo Furuhashi |
Celtic |
| January | Robbie Neilson |
Heart of Midlothian | Kevin Nisbet |
Hibernian |
| February | Stuart Kettlewell |
Motherwell | Reo Hatate |
Celtic |
| March | Barry Robson |
Aberdeen | Duk |
Aberdeen |
| April | Kevin van Veen |
Motherwell | ||
The SPFL Premiership manager of the year was Ange Postecoglou of Celtic.
The SPFL Premiership player of the year was Kyogo Furuhashi of Celtic.
Premiership play-offs
The quarter-finals were contested by the teams placed third and fourth in the 2022–23 Scottish Championship. The winners advanced to the semi-finals to face the team placed second in the Championship. The final was contested by the semi-final winners and the team placed eleventh in the Premiership, with the winners securing a place in the 2023–24 Scottish Premiership.[64]
Qualified teams
| Team | Rank |
|---|---|
| Ross County | 1 |
| Ayr United | 2 |
| Queen's Park | 3 |
| Partick Thistle | 4 |
| Quarter-final | Semi-final | Final | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Ross County | 0 | 3 | 3 (5) | |||||||||||||||
| 2 | Ayr United | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Partick Thistle | 2 | 1 | 3 (4) | ||||||||||
| 3 | Queen's Park | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | Partick Thistle | 3 | 5 | 8 | ||||||||||
| 4 | Partick Thistle | 4 | 4 | 8 | |||||||||||||||
Quarter-finals
First leg
| 9 May 2023 | Partick Thistle | 4–3 | Queen's Park | Glasgow |
| 19:45 | Turner  15'McMillan 28'Fitzpatrick 69'Graham 90+7' |
[65] | Thomas 33', 87' Boateng 83' |
Stadium: Firhill Stadium Attendance: 3,754 Referee: Kevin Clancy |
Second leg
| 12 May 2023 | Queen's Park | 0–4 (3–8 agg.) | Partick Thistle | Stenhousemuir |
| 19:45 | [66] | Graham 14' Tiffoney 28'Holt 41'Mullen 82' |
Stadium: Ochilview Park Attendance: 1,581 Referee: Colin Steven |
Semi-finals
First leg
| 19 May 2023 | Partick Thistle | 3–0 | Ayr United | Glasgow |
| 19:45 | McMillan 16' Graham 50', 72' |
[67] | Stadium: Firhill Stadium Attendance: 7,012 Referee: Greg Aitken |
Second leg
Final
First leg
| 1 June 2023 | Partick Thistle | 2–0 | Ross County | Glasgow |
| 20:00 | Fitzpatrick 9' Graham 45' |
[69] | Stadium: Firhill Stadium Attendance: 7,291 Referee: David Munro |
Second leg
| 4 June 2023 | Ross County | 3–1 (a.e.t.) (3–3 agg.) (5–4 p) | Partick Thistle | Dingwall |
| 16:30 | Dhanda 71' (pen.) Murray 72'Harmon 90' |
[70] | Fitzpatrick 43' |
Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 4,533 Referee: Nick Walsh |
| Penalties | ||||
Dhanda  Murray White Baldwin  Harmon Watson Sims |
Muirhead Holt Turner Graham McMillan Bannigan Docherty |
|||
Notes
- Hammell was initially named as interim manager, before being appointed on a permanent basis on 11 August 2022.
- Fox was initially named as interim manager, before being appointed on a permanent basis on 23 September 2022.
- Robson was initially named as interim manager, before being appointed on a permanent basis on 1 May 2023.
- Kettlewell was initially named as interim manager, before being appointed on a permanent basis on 22 February 2023.
- MacLean was initially named as interim manager, before being appointed on a permanent basis on 27 May 2023.