1995–96 Scottish Premier Division

90th season of top-tier football league in Scotland February 2024 March 2026 Scottish Premier Division 1995–96 26 August 1995 – 4 May 1996 Rangers 11th Premier Division title 46th Scottish title Falkirk Partick Thistle Champions League Rangers UEFA Cup CelticAberdeen Cup Winners' Cup Heart of Midlothian Pierre van Hooijdonk (26) 477 2.65 Rangers 7–0 Hibernian (30 Dec) Heart of Midlothian 0–4 Celtic (23 Sep)Partick Thistle 0–4 Rangers (14 Oct)Hibernian 0–4 Celtic (9 Dec)Falkirk 0–4 Rangers (6 Jan) 47,312, Rangers 1–1 Celtic (17 Mar) 2,320, Partick Thistle 0–3 Raith Rovers (3 Mar) 15,035 1994–95 1996–97 The 1995–96 Scottish Premier Division season was the second season involving a relegation playoff with the Scottish First Division. The season began on 26 August 1995. Overview The 1995–96 Scottish Premier Division season ended in success for Rangers who won the title by four points from nearest rivals Celtic to clinch eight titles in a row, despite Celtic losing only one league match in the entire season. Falkirk were relegated to the First Division after finishing bottom with Partick Thistle also being relegated after losing the relegation playoff to Dundee United. As champions, Rangers qualified for the Champions League while Celtic were joined by third-placed Aberdeen in qualifying for the UEFA Cup. Fourth-placed Hearts qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as Scottish Cup runners-up.http://www.soccerbot.com/scot/tables/sdprem96.htm Scottish Premier Division 1995/96 Soccerbot 4 June 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080514141514/http://www.soccerbot.com/scot/tables/sdprem96.htm 14 May 2008 live The season began on 26 August with the first goal of the season scored by Aberdeen's John Inglis as they won 3–2 away to Falkirk. The regular league season ended on 4 May with Hibernian's Darren Jackson netting a late winner in a 1–0 win at home to Partick Thistle to claim the final goal of the season. Clubs Promotion and relegation from 1994–95 Promoted from First Division to Premier League Raith Rovers Relegated from Premier Division to First Division Dundee United Stadia and locations Scotland Central Belt 400 right Location of clubs in the 1995–96 Scottish Premier Division Scotland Central Belt 6 57.159387 -2.088979 Aberdeen left Scotland Central Belt 6 55.849705 -4.205414 Celtic right Scotland Central Belt 6 56.003442 -3.789306 Falkirk left Scotland Central Belt 6 55.939167 -3.232222 Hearts left Scotland Central Belt 6 55.961667 -3.165556 Hibernian right Scotland Central Belt 6 55.604321 -4.508300 Kilmarnock left Scotland Central Belt 6 55.780279 -3.980205 Motherwell right Scotland Central Belt 6 55.881584 -4.269841 Partick Thistle top Scotland Central Belt 6 56.118300 -3.138820 Raith Rovers right Scotland Central Belt 6 55.853207 -4.309243 Rangers left Team Location StadiumAberdeen Aberdeen Pittodrie StadiumCeltic Parkhead, Glasgow Celtic ParkFalkirkFalkirkBrockville ParkHeart of MidlothianGorgie, EdinburghTynecastle ParkHibernianLeith, EdinburghEaster RoadKilmarnockKilmarnockRugby ParkMotherwellMotherwellFir ParkPartick ThistleMaryhill, GlasgowFirhill StadiumRaith RoversKirkcaldyStark's ParkRangersIbrox, GlasgowIbrox Park Managers Team ManagerAberdeenSCO Roy AitkenCelticSCO Tommy BurnsFalkirkSCO Eamonn BannonHeart of MidlothianSCO Jim JefferiesHibernianSCO Alex MillerKilmarnockSCO Alex TottenMotherwellSCO Alex McLeishPartick ThistleSCO Murdo MacLeodRaith RoversSCO Jimmy ThomsonRangersSCO Walter Smith Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Date of vacancy Manner of departure Incoming manager Date of appointmentHeart of MidlothianSCO Tommy McLean21 July 1995SackedSCO Jim Jefferies4 August 1995FalkirkSCO Jim Jefferies4 August 1995Signed by Heart of MidlothianSCO John LambieAugust 1995Partick ThistleSCO John LambieAugust 1995Signed by FalkirkSCO Murdo MacLeodAugust 1995Raith RoversNIR Jimmy NichollFebruary 1996Signed by MillwallSCO Jimmy ThomsonFebruary 1996FalkirkSCO John Lambie16 March 1996ResignedSCO Eamonn BannonMay 1996 Events 14 October: Gordon Durie hits the first hat-trick of the season in a 4–0 win at Partick Thistle. 28 April: Rangers win the title at Ibrox as a Paul Gascoigne hat-trick helps them to a 3–1 win over Aberdeen. League table main WDL complete Soccerbase RAN CEL ABE HOM HIB RAI KIL MOT PAR FAL CL UC UC CWC PO REL 16 7 13 52 45 24 11 1 74 25 6 6 24 31 60 16 7 13 55 53 11 10 15 43 57 11 8 17 39 54 9 12 15 28 39 8 6 22 29 62 12 7 17 41 57 27 6 3 85 25 Aberdeen Celtic Falkirk Heart of Midlothian Hibernian Kilmarnock Motherwell Partick Thistle Raith Rovers Rangers C R R 5 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored QR green1 Qualification for the Champions League qualifying round blue1 Qualification for the UEFA Cup qualifying round yellow1 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup qualifying round red2 Qualification for the Play-off red1 Relegation to the First Division Aberdeen qualified for the UEFA Cup by winning the League Cup. As Rangers, the winners of the Scottish Cup, qualified for the Champions League via their league position, the place in the Cup Winners' Cup was passed to the cup runner-up, Heart of Midlothian. Results Matches 1–18 During matches 1–18 each team plays every other team twice (home and away). main FBR grey ABE CEL FAL HOM HIB KIL MOT PAR RAI RAN Aberdeen 2–3 3–1 1–2 1–2 4–1 1–0 3–0 3–0 0–1 Celtic 2–0 1–0 3–1 2–2 4–2 1–1 2–1 0–0 0–2 Falkirk 2–3 0–1 2–0 2–0 0–2 0–0 0–1 2–1 0–2 Heart of Midlothian 1–2 0–4 4–1 2–1 2–1 1–1 3–0 4–2 0–2 Hibernian 1–1 0–4 2–1 2–2 2–0 4–2 3–0 1–2 1–4 Kilmarnock 1–2 0–0 4–0 3–1 0–3 1–1 2–1 5–1 0–2 Motherwell 2–1 0–2 1–1 0–0 0–2 3–0 1–1 0–2 0–0 Partick Thistle 1–0 1–2 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–2 0–4 Raith Rovers 1–0 0–1 0–1 1–1 3–0 2–0 0–0 3–1 2–2 Rangers 1–1 3–3 2–0 4–1 0–1 1–0 2–1 1–0 4–0 complete Soccerbot Matches 19–36 During matches 19–36 each team plays every other team a further two times (home and away). main FBR grey ABE CEL FAL HOM HIB KIL MOT PAR RAI RAN Aberdeen 1–2 2–1 1–1 2–1 3–0 2–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 Celtic 5–0 4–0 4–0 2–1 1–1 1–0 4–0 4–1 0–0 Falkirk 1–1 0–0 0–2 1–1 4–2 0–1 1–2 2–3 0–4 Heart of Midlothian 1–3 1–2 2–1 1–1 1–0 4–0 2–5 2–0 2–0 Hibernian 1–2 1–2 2–1 2–1 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–1 0–2 Kilmarnock 1–1 0–0 1–0 0–2 3–2 0–1 2–1 2–0 0–3 Motherwell 1–0 0–0 1–0 1–1 3–0 0–1 0–2 1–0 1–3 Partick Thistle 1–1 2–4 0–3 0–1 0–0 0–1 0–2 0–3 1–2 Raith Rovers 2–2 1–3 1–0 1–3 1–0 1–1 2–0 0–2 2–4 Rangers 3–1 1–1 3–2 0–3 7–0 3–0 3–2 5–0 4–0 complete Soccerbot Play-off A two leg play-off took place between the 9th placed team in the Premier Division (Partick Thistle) and the runner-up of the First Division (Dundee United) for a place in the 1996–97 Scottish Premier Division. The first leg at Firhill Stadium finished 1–1 and the second leg at Tannadice Park four days later also finished 1–1 after 90 minutes, meaning extra time was required to separate the teams. Owen Coyle scored for Dundee United during extra time, meaning Dundee United won 3–2 on aggregate, and returned to the Premier Division and Partick Thistle were relegated to the First Division. Top scorers Player Goals Team NED Pierre van Hooijdonk 26 Celtic SCO Gordon Durie 17 Rangers SCO Ally McCoist 16 Rangers ENG Paul Gascoigne 14 RangersSCO Paul Wright 13 KilmarnockSCO John Collins 11 CelticSCO John Robertson Heart of Midlothian SCO Darren Jackson 10 Hibernian SCO Colin Cameron Raith Rovers SCO Scott Booth 9 Aberdeen SCO Joe Miller SCO Keith Wright Hibernian Source: Soccerbot https://web.archive.org/web/20081006184600/http://www.soccerbot.com/scot/results/sdprem96.htm 6 October 2008 Awards Player awards AwardWinnerClubPFA Players' Player of the YearENG Paul GascoigneRangersPFA Young Player of the YearSCO Jackie McNamaraCelticSFWA Footballer of the YearENG Paul GascoigneRangers Manager awards AwardWinnerClubSFWA Manager of the YearSCO Walter SmithRangers Attendances { class"wikitable sortable" !#!!Football club!!Home games!!Average attendanceHistorical attendances https://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/archive/sco/avesco1996.htm - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Rangers FC 18 44,661 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Celtic FC 18 34,342 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Aberdeen FC 18 12,764 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Heart of Midlothian 18 12,077 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Hibernian FC 18 9,842 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Kilmarnock FC 18 8,719 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Motherwell FC 18 7,222 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Partick Thistle 18 6,458 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Falkirk FC 18 5,885 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Raith Rovers 18 5,784 - } See also Nine in a row References Category:Scottish Premier Division seasons Scot Category:1995–96 Scottish Football League