2023–24 Scottish Premiership
118th season of top-tier football league in Scotland
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The 2023–24 Scottish Premiership (known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the eleventh season of the Scottish Premiership, the highest division of Scottish football, and the 127th edition overall of the top national league competition, not including one cancelled due to World War II. The season began on 5 August 2023.[1]
19 May 2024
10th Premiership title
54th Scottish title
| Season | 2023–24 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 5 August 2023 – 19 May 2024 |
| Champions | Celtic 10th Premiership title 54th Scottish title |
| Relegated | Livingston |
| Champions League | Celtic Rangers |
| Europa League | Heart of Midlothian Kilmarnock |
| Conference League | St Mirren |
| Matches | 228 |
| Goals | 629 (2.76 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Lawrence Shankland (24 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Celtic 6–0 Aberdeen (12 November 2023) Celtic 7–1 Dundee (28 February 2024) |
| Biggest away win | Dundee 0–5 Rangers (1 November 2023) Kilmarnock 0–5 Celtic (15 May 2024) |
| Highest scoring | Celtic 7–1 Dundee (28 February 2024) |
| Longest winning run | Rangers (9 games) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Celtic (16 games) |
| Longest winless run | Livingston (17 games) |
| Longest losing run | Livingston (8 games) |
| Highest attendance | 59,664 Celtic 2–1 Rangers (30 December 2023) |
| Lowest attendance | 1,142 Livingston 2–2 Ross County (30 January 2024) |
| Total attendance | 3,716,679 |
| Average attendance | 16,301 |
← 2022–23 2024–25 → | |
Twelve teams contested the league: Aberdeen, Celtic, Dundee, Heart of Midlothian, Hibernian, Kilmarnock, Livingston, Motherwell, Rangers, Ross County, St Johnstone and St Mirren.
On 15 May 2024, Celtic successfully defended their title, securing a tenth Premiership title and 54th Scottish league title overall, following a 5–0 victory away to Kilmarnock.[2][3]
Teams
The following teams changed division after the 2022–23 season.
Promoted from the Championship
Relegated to the Championship
Stadia and locations
| Aberdeen | Celtic | Dundee | Heart of Midlothian |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pittodrie Stadium | Celtic Park | Dens Park | Tynecastle Park |
| Capacity: 20,866[4] | Capacity: 60,411[5] | Capacity: 11,775[6] | Capacity: 19,852[7] |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Hibernian |   Edinburgh Glasgow  Location of teams in the 2023–24 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 |  Peter Leven (Interim) |
Graeme Shinnie |
Adidas | TEXO |
| Celtic |  Brendan Rodgers |
Callum McGregor |
Adidas | Dafabet |
| Dundee | Tony Docherty |
 Joe Shaughnessy |
Macron | Crown Engineering Services |
| Heart of Midlothian | Steven Naismith |
Craig Gordon |
Umbro | MND Scotland (Home) Stellar Omada (Away) |
| Hibernian | David Gray (Interim) |
Paul Hanlon |
Joma | Bevvy.com |
| Kilmarnock | Derek McInnes |
Kyle Vassell |
Hummel | James Frew Ltd |
| Livingston | David Martindale |
Mikey Devlin |
Joma | Emptez |
| Motherwell | Stuart Kettlewell |
Liam Kelly |
Macron | G4 Claims |
| Rangers |  Philippe Clement |
 James Tavernier |
Castore | Unibet |
| Ross County | Don Cowie (Interim) |
Jack Baldwin |
Joma | Ross-shire Engineering |
| St Johnstone | Craig Levein |
Liam Gordon |
Macron | GS Brown Construction |
| St Mirren | Stephen Robinson |
Mark O'Hara |
Macron | Digby Brown |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dundee | Gary Bowyer |
End of contract | 10 May 2023[17] | Pre-season | Tony Docherty |
29 May 2023[18] |
| Celtic |  Ange Postecoglou |
Signed by Tottenham Hotspur | 6 June 2023[19] | Brendan Rodgers |
19 June 2023[20] | |
| Hibernian | Lee Johnson |
Sacked | 27 August 2023[21] | 12th | Nick Montgomery |
11 September 2023[22] |
| Rangers | Michael Beale |
1 October 2023[23] | 3rd | Philippe Clement |
15 October 2023[24] | |
| St Johnstone | Steven MacLean |
29 October 2023[25] | 12th | Craig Levein |
5 November 2023[26] | |
| Ross County | Malky Mackay |
15 November 2023[27] | 11th | Derek Adams |
20 November 2023[28] | |
| Aberdeen | Barry Robson |
31 January 2024[29] | 8th | Neil Warnock |
5 February 2024[30] | |
| Ross County | Derek Adams |
Resigned | 7 February 2024[31] | 11th | Don Cowie (Interim) |
8 February 2024[32] |
| Aberdeen | Neil Warnock |
9 March 2024[33] | 10th | Peter Leven (Interim) |
9 March 2024[34] | |
| Hibernian | Nick Montgomery |
Sacked | 14 May 2024[35] | 9th | David Gray (Interim) |
14 May 2024[35] |
Format
In the initial phase of the season, the 12 teams play a round-robin tournament whereby each team plays each of the other teams three times. After 33 games, the league splits into two sections of six teams, with each team playing each other once 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 | 29 | 6 | 3 | 95 | 30 | +65 | 93 | Qualification for the Champions League league stage |
| 2 | Rangers | 38 | 27 | 4 | 7 | 87 | 32 | +55 | 85 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Heart of Midlothian | 38 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 54 | 42 | +12 | 68 | Qualification for the Europa League play-off round[b] |
| 4 | Kilmarnock | 38 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 46 | 44 | +2 | 56 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round |
| 5 | St Mirren | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 46 | 52 | −6 | 47 | Qualification for the Conference League second qualifying round |
| 6 | Dundee | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 49 | 68 | −19 | 42 | |
| 7 | Aberdeen | 38 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 48 | 52 | −4 | 48 | |
| 8 | Hibernian | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 52 | 59 | −7 | 46 | |
| 9 | Motherwell | 38 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 56 | 59 | −3 | 43 | |
| 10 | St Johnstone | 38 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 29 | 54 | −25 | 35 | |
| 11 | Ross County (O) | 38 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 38 | 67 | −29 | 35 | Qualification for the Premiership play-off final |
| 12 | Livingston (R) | 38 | 5 | 10 | 23 | 29 | 70 | −41 | 25 | 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).[38]
(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).
- As the winners of the 2023–24 Scottish Cup, Celtic, qualified for the Champions League, the berth reserved for the cup winners (Europa League play-off round) passed to the third-placed team. The berths for the Europa League second qualifying round and the Conference League second qualifying round were passed down to the fourth- and fifth-placed teams.
Results
Matches 1–22Teams played each other twice, once at home and once away. |
Matches 23–33Teams played each other once, either home or away.
|
Matches 34–38
After 33 matches, the league was split 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 were determined by the position of the teams in the league table at the time of the split.
Top six |
Bottom six
|
Season statistics
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lawrence Shankland |
Heart of Midlothian | 24 |
| 2 |  Matt O'Riley |
Celtic | 18 |
| 3 | James Tavernier |
Rangers | 17 |
| 4 |  Cyriel Dessers |
Rangers | 16 |
 Bojan Miovski |
Aberdeen | ||
| 6 |  Theo Bair |
Motherwell | 15 |
| 7 |  Kyōgo Furuhashi |
Celtic | 14 |
| Simon Murray |
Ross County | ||
| 9 |  Abdallah Sima |
Rangers | 11 |
| 10 |  Myziane Maolida |
Hibernian | 10 |
| Luke McCowan |
Dundee |
Source:[42]
Clean sheets
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Butland |
Rangers | 18 |
| 2 | Zander Clark |
Heart of Midlothian | 15 |
| Joe Hart |
Celtic | ||
| 4 | Will Dennis |
Kilmarnock | 14 |
| 5 | Zach Hemming |
St Mirren | 10 |
 Kelle Roos |
Aberdeen | ||
| 7 | David Marshall |
Hibernian | 9 |
| 8 | Trevor Carson |
Dundee | 8 |
 Dimitar Mitov |
St Johnstone | ||
| 10 | Shamal George |
Livingston | 7 |
Source:[43]
Awards
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | |
| August | Stephen Robinson |
St Mirren | Ryan Strain |
St Mirren |
| September | Brendan Rodgers |
Celtic | Matt O'Riley |
Celtic |
| October | Derek McInnes |
Kilmarnock | Abdallah Sima |
Rangers |
| November | Steven Naismith |
Heart of Midlothian | Lawrence Shankland |
Heart of Midlothian |
| December | Derek McInnes |
Kilmarnock | ||
| January | Philippe Clement |
Rangers | Alan Forrest | |
| February | Blair Spittal |
Motherwell | ||
| March | Tony Docherty |
Dundee | Myziane Maolida |
Hibernian |
| April | Brendan Rodgers |
Celtic | Luke McCowan |
Dundee |
The SPFL Premiership manager of the year was Derek McInnes of Kilmarnock.
The SPFL Premiership player of the year was Lawrence Shankland of Heart of Midlothian.
Annual awards
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Scottich Premiership Player of the Year | Lawrence Shankland |
Heart of Midlothian |
| PFA Scotland Premiership Player of the Year | Lawrence Shankland |
Heart of Midlothian |
| PFA Scotland SPFL Young Player of the Year | David Watson |
Kilmarnock |
| PFA Scotland SPFL Manager of the Year | John McGlynn |
Falkirk |
| PFA Scotland Goal of the Season | Rabbi Matondo |
Rangers |
| SFWA Player of the Year | Lawrence Shankland |
Heart of Midlothian |
| PFA Scotland Team of the Year[44] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Jack Butland (Rangers) | |||||||||||
| Defenders | James Tavernier (Rangers) |
 Cameron Carter-Vickers(Celtic) |
Liam Scales (Celtic) |
Owen Beck (Dundee) | ||||||||
| Midfielders | Matt O'Riley (Celtic) |
John Lundstram (Rangers) |
Callum McGregor (Celtic) | |||||||||
| Forwards | Bojan Miovski (Aberdeen) |
Lawrence Shankland (Heart of Midlothian) |
Theo Bair (Motherwell) | |||||||||
Premiership play-offs
The quarter-final was contested by the teams placed third and fourth in the 2023–24 Scottish Championship, Partick Thistle and Airdrieonians. Partick Thistle advanced to the semi-final to face the team placed second in the Championship, Raith Rovers. The final was contested by Raith Rovers and the team placed eleventh in the Premiership, Ross County, who won the tie to secure a place in the 2024–25 Scottish Premiership.[45]
Qualified teams
| Team | Rank |
|---|---|
| Ross County | 1 |
| Raith Rovers | 2 |
| Partick Thistle | 3 |
| Airdrieonians | 4 |
| Quarter-final | Semi-final | Final | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Ross County | 2 | 4 | 6 | |||||||||||||||
| 2 | Raith Rovers | 2 | 1 | 3 (4) | 2 | Raith Rovers | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 3 | Partick Thistle | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | Partick Thistle | 1 | 2 | 3 (3) | ||||||||||
| 4 | Airdrieonians | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||||||
Quarter-final
First leg
| 7 May 2024 | Airdrieonians | 2–2 | Partick Thistle | Airdrie |
| 19:45 | Todorov  5'McGill 50' |
[46] | McBeth 29' Robinson 45' |
Stadium: Excelsior Stadium Attendance: 3,163 Referee: Grant Irvine |
Second leg
Semi-final
First leg
| 14 May 2024 | Partick Thistle | 1–2 | Raith Rovers | Glasgow |
| 19:45 |
|
[48] | Stadium: Firhill Stadium Attendance: 5,497 Referee: Chris Graham |
Second leg
Final
First leg
| 23 May 2024 | Raith Rovers | 1–2 | Ross County | Kirkcaldy |
| 20:00 |
|
[50] | Stadium: Stark's Park Attendance: 6,216 Referee: John Beaton |
Second leg
| 26 May 2024 | Ross County | 4–0 (6–1 agg.) | Raith Rovers | Dingwall |
| 12:00 | [51] | Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 5,797 Referee: Don Robertson |
Attendances
Celtic FC drew the highest average home attendance in the 2023-24 edition of the Scottish Premiership.
| # | Football club | Home games | Average attendance[52] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celtic FC | 19 | 58,827 |
| 2 | Rangers FC | 19 | 49,141 |
| 3 | Heart of Midlothian | 19 | 18,406 |
| 4 | Hibernian FC | 19 | 16,808 |
| 5 | Aberdeen FC | 19 | 16,055 |
| 6 | Dundee FC | 19 | 6,965 |
| 7 | St. Mirren FC | 19 | 6,646 |
| 8 | Kilmarnock FC | 19 | 6,523 |
| 9 | Motherwell FC | 19 | 5,699 |
| 10 | St. Johnstone FC | 19 | 4,547 |
| 11 | Ross County FC | 19 | 4,302 |
| 12 | Livingston FC | 19 | 3,582 |