2000–01 Scottish Premier League

95th season of top-tier football league in Scotland March 2016 April 2023 Scottish Premier League 2000–01 29 July 2000 – 20 May 2001 Celtic 1st Premier League title 37th Scottish title St Mirren Champions League CelticRangers UEFA Cup HibernianKilmarnock Intertoto Cup Dundee Henrik Larsson (35) 228 605 Celtic 6–2 Rangers (27 August)Dundee United 3–5 Aberdeen (23 September)Hibernian 6–2 Hearts (22 October)Rangers 7–1 St Mirren (4 November)Hearts 7–1 Dunfermline Athletic (24 February) Rangers 7–1 St Mirren (4 November) Celtic 6–0 Aberdeen (16 December) Celtic 6–0 Kilmarnock (2 January)Hearts 7–1 Dunfermline Athletic (24 February) Dundee United 0–4 Celtic (26 December) Dundee United 0–4 Hearts (14 October) 60,440, Celtic 1–0 St Mirren (7 April) 2,610, Dunfermline Athletic 1–2 Motherwell (12 May) 15,905 (12px 2,089) 1999–2000 2001–02 The 2000–01 Scottish Premier League (known as the 2000–01 Bank of Scotland Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the third season of the Scottish Premier League, the top level of football in Scotland. It began on 29 July 2000 and concluded on 20 May 2001. Rangers were the defending champions. Celtic finished the season as league champions by a 15-point margin over Rangers, also winning both of the domestic cups to complete a domestic treble, in their first season under the management of Martin O'Neill. Changes from 1999–2000 season 2000–01 saw the Scottish Premier League (SPL) expanded from 10 to 12 clubs, which was part of the agreement reached between the clubs in the SPL and the Scottish Football League when the top-tier clubs broke away in 1998.https://spfl.co.uk/news/article/season-review-200001-2008-06-01/ Scottish Professional Football League Season review 2000/01 6 February 2018 2 July 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180702233302/https://spfl.co.uk/news/article/season-review-200001-2008-06-01/ live With the expansion of the league, the league 'split' was introduced to avoid the need for clubs to play 44 fixtures in a season,Mullaney Paul 8 April 2013 Scottish Premier League: In Defence of the Split Bleacher Report https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1596665-scottish-premier-league-in-defence-of-the-split live 6 February 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180604105757/http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1596665-scottish-premier-league-in-defence-of-the-split 4 June 2018 which would be the case if the quadruple round-robin format of the previous season was followed. Instead, after 33 rounds of matches, by which time all clubs had played each other three times, the league split into a 'top six' and 'bottom six' with clubs only competing against teams within their own section for the final five fixtures. Points achieved during the first phase of 33 matches were carried forward to the second phase but after the first phase was completed, clubs cannot move out of their own section in the league, even if they achieved more or fewer points than a higher or lower ranked team, respectively.http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/1251646.stm Guide to the SPL split 31 March 2001 BBC Sport 6 February 2001 4 September 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170904120433/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/1251646.stm live The new format received widespread criticism from SPL managers.http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hibernian/825790.stm BBC Sport Fear factor worries McLeish 9 July 2000 24 April 2008 Results in European competition over the previous five years saw the league move up from 21st to 15th in the UEFA country coefficient ranking. This meant that the league was granted an additional berth in the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds for the following season.https://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/history/qual2001.html Bert Kassies Qualification for European club football 2001/02 6 February 2018 16 August 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180816121331/http://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/history/qual2001.html live Teams Twelve clubs competed in the league, all of the participants in the 1999–2000 Scottish Premier League and the top two clubs in the 1999–2000 Scottish First Division. A play-off was due to take place between the bottom club of the Premier League (Aberdeen) and the second- and third-placed club of the First Division (Dunfermline Athletic and Falkirk, respectively), but as Falkirk's stadium did not meet the minimum SPL seating requirements, this play-off did not take place, and Aberdeen and Dunfermline were automatically placed in the Premier League.http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/f/falkirk/1058414.stm BBC News Falkirk stadium hopes boost 6 December 2000 6 February 2018 5 April 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200405042733/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/f/falkirk/1058414.stm live St Mirren were promoted to the league as champions of the 1999–2000 First Division, securing the championship on 29 April 2000 with a 3–0 victory over Raith Rovers at Love Street. This was to be their first season at the top level of Scottish football since 1991–92. Stadia and locations Aberdeen Celtic Dundee Dundee United Pittodrie Stadium Celtic Park Dens Park Tannadice Park Capacity: 20,866http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/aberdeen/ Aberdeen Football Club Scottish Professional Football League 11 November 2013 Capacity: 60,411http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/celtic/ Celtic Football Club Scottish Professional Football League 11 November 2013 Capacity: 11,506http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/dundee/ Dundee Football Club Scottish Professional Football League 11 November 2013 Capacity: 14,223http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/dundee-united/ Dundee United Football Club Scottish Professional Football League 11 November 2013 200px 200px 200px 200px Dunfermline AthleticScotland Central Belt 400 center Location of teams in 2000–01 Scottish Premier League Scotland Central Belt 6 57.159387 -2.088979 Aberdeen left Scotland Central Belt 6 56.495264 -2.973194 Dundee left Scotland Central Belt 6 56.474765 -2.968894 Dundee United right Scotland Central Belt 6 56.075308 -3.441906 Dunfermline Athletic 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 55.853207 -4.309243 Rangers top Scotland Central Belt 6 55.849705 -4.205414 Celtic right Scotland Central Belt 6 55.780279 -3.980205 Motherwell right Scotland Central Belt 6 56.389979 -3.476840 St. Johnstone left Scotland Central Belt 6 55.850388 -4.443927 St Mirren left Heart of Midlothian East End Park Tynecastle Park Capacity: 12,509http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/dunfermline-athletic/ Dunfermline Athletic Football Club Scottish Professional Football League 11 November 2013 Capacity: 17,420http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/hearts/ Heart of Midlothian Football Club Scottish Professional Football League 11 November 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20131022121754/http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/hearts/ 22 October 2013 dead 200px 200px Hibernian Kilmarnock Easter Road Rugby Park Capacity: 16,531http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/hibernian/ Hibernian Football Club Scottish Professional Football League 11 November 2013 Capacity: 17,889http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/kilmarnock/ Kilmarnock Football Club Scottish Professional Football League 11 November 2013 200px 200px Motherwell Rangers St Johnstone St Mirren Fir Park Ibrox Stadium McDiarmid Park Love Street Capacity: 13,677http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/motherwell/ Motherwell Football Club Scottish Professional Football League 11 November 2013 Capacity: 50,817http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/rangers/ Rangers Football Club Scottish Professional Football League 4 November 2015 Capacity: 10,696http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/st-johnstone/ St Johnstone Football Club Scottish Professional Football League 11 November 2013 Capacity: 10,800http://spfl.co.uk/clubs/st-mirren/ St Mirren Football Club Scottish Professional Football League 11 November 2013 200px 200px 200px 200px Personnel and kits Team Manager Kit manufacturer Kit sponsor Aberdeen Denmark Ebbe Skovdahl Pumahttp://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Scottish_Football_League/Aberdeen/Aberdeen.htm Aberdeen Historical Football Kits 6 February 2018 Atlantic Telecom Celtic Northern Ireland Martin O'Neill Umbrohttp://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Scottish_Football_League/Celtic/Celtic.htm Celtic Historical Football Kits 6 February 2018 ntl: Dundee Italy Ivano Bonetti Xarahttp://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Scottish_Football_League/Dundee/Dundee.htm Dundee Historical Football Kits 6 February 2018 Ceramic Tile Warehouse Dundee UnitedScotland Alex SmithTFG Sportshttp://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Scottish_Football_League/Dundee_United/Dundee_United.htm Dundee United Historical Football Kits 6 February 2018Telewest Dunfermline AthleticScotland Jimmy CalderwoodTFG Sportshttp://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Scottish_Football_League/Dunfermline_Athletic/Dunfermline_Athletic.htm Dunfermline Athletic Historical Football Kits 6 February 2018Auto Windscreens Heart of MidlothianScotland Craig LeveinErreàhttp://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Scottish_Football_League/Heart_of_Midlothian/Heart_of_Midlothian.htm Heart of Midlothian Historical Football Kits 6 February 2018Strongbow HibernianScotland Alex McLeishLe Coq Sportifhttp://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Scottish_Football_League/Hibernian/hibernian.htm Hibernian Historical Football Kits 6 February 2018Carlsberg KilmarnockScotland Bobby Williamson Pumahttp://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Scottish_Football_League/Kilmarnock/Kilmarnock.htm Kilmarnock Historical Football Kits 6 February 2018 scotlandonline.com MotherwellScotland Billy DaviesXarahttp://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Scottish_Football_League/Motherwell/Motherwell.htm Motherwell Historical Football Kits 6 February 2018Motorola RangersNetherlands Dick AdvocaatNikehttp://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Scottish_Football_League/Rangers/Rangers.htm Rangers Historical Football Kits 6 February 2018 ntl: St JohnstoneScotland Sandy ClarkXarahttp://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Scottish_Football_League/St_Johnstone/St_Johnstone.htm St Johnstone Historical Football Kits 6 February 2018 Scottish Hydro Electric St MirrenScotland Tom HendrieXarahttp://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Scottish_Football_League/St_Mirren/St_Mirren.htm St Mirren Historical Football Kits 6 February 2018 LDV Group Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Date of vacancy Manner of departure Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointmentCelticScotland Kenny Dalglish1 June 2000http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/773512.stm O'Neill unveiled as Celtic boss 1 June 2000 BBC News 6 February 2018Caretaker spell endedPre-seasonNorthern Ireland Martin O'Neill1 June 2000DundeeScotland Jocky Scott10 July 2000https://www.theguardian.com/football/2000/may/12/newsstory.sport2 Dundee turn to Bonetti brothers 12 May 2000 The Guardian 6 February 2018Contract expiredItaly Ivano Bonetti10 July 2000Dundee UnitedScotland Paul Sturrock7 August 2000http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/d/dundee_utd/868507.stm Sturrock's United days are over BBC News 6 February 2018Resigned12thScotland Alex Smith8 August 2000http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12241147.Smith_apos_s_managerial_zest_as_strong_as_ever_31_years_on_Sacked_by_St_Mirren_and_Aberdeen__Alex_Smith_feels_privileged_to_be_back_in_the__front_line_with_Dundee_United_doing_a_job__that_apos_s_in_his_blood/ Smith's managerial zest as strong as ever 31 years on The Herald 6 February 2018Heart of MidlothianScotland Jim Jefferies8 November 2000http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/1014079.stm Jefferies stands down as Hearts boss 9 November 2000 BBC News 6 February 2018Mutual consent5thScotland Craig Levein1 December 2000http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/heart_of_midlothian/1049729.stm Hearts unveil Levein as new coach 1 December 2000 BBC News 6 February 2018 Overview The 2000–01 title was won by Celtic – their first SPL title, and their first Scottish title since winning the 1997–98 Premier Division – in Martin O'Neill's first season as manager of the club. Celtic also went on to win the 2000–01 Scottish Cup and the 2000–01 Scottish League Cup, completing a domestic treble. Henrik Larsson won the 2000–01 European Golden Shoe for his goalscoring, scoring 35 league goals and 53 goals in all competitions over the course of the season. The 35 goals Larsson scored in the league this season was a Scottish Premier League record. Defending champions Rangers finished second, 15 points behind their Old Firm-rivals. Celtic secured their title on 7 April 2001, with a 1–0 victory over St Mirren at Celtic Park.http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/1265666.stm Celtic recapture league title 7 April 2001 BBC News 6 February 2018 16 October 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20061016181312/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/1265666.stm live The aforementioned match had the highest attendance of any match in SPL history. As champions, Celtic qualified for the Champions League, as did second-placed Rangers. Third-placed Hibernian and fourth-placed Kilmarnock qualified for the UEFA Cup, while Dundee became the first SPL club – and the first Scottish club since Partick Thistle in 1995 – to qualify for the UEFA Intertoto Cup. The record for the highest transfer fee ever paid by a Scottish club was broken twice over the course of the season. Firstly, by Chris Sutton's transfer from Chelsea to Celtic on 10 July 2000 for £6 million.https://www.theguardian.com/football/2000/jul/10/newsstory.sport2 Celtic to break bank for Sutton The Guardian 10 July 2000 6 February 2018 7 February 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180207062905/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2000/jul/10/newsstory.sport2 live Then, on 23 November 2000, the £12 million fee paid by Rangers to Chelsea for Tore André Flo became the highest transfer fee ever paid by a Scottish club,https://www.theguardian.com/football/2000/nov/23/newsstory.sport1 Flo completes £12m Rangers move The Guardian 23 November 2000 6 February 2018 and is a record which still stands as of 2025. The signing of Claudio Caniggia for Dundee in October 2000 was also seen by many as a major coup for the club,https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/4773017/Dundee-delight-as-Caniggia-signs.html The Daily Telegraph 5 October 2000 Dundee delight as Caniggia signs 6 February 2018 7 February 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180207122406/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/4773017/Dundee-delight-as-Caniggia-signs.html live and was just one of many signings of international players made under the management of Ivano Bonetti. St Mirren were relegated in what was their debut season in the SPL and their first appearance in Scotland's top division since 1991–92. Their relegation was mathematically confirmed on the final day of the season with a 3–3 draw against Motherwell, leaving them five points below 11th-placed Dundee United. League table main WDL complete Scottish Professional Football League CEL RAN HIB KIL HOM DND ABE MOT DNF STJ DNU STM CL3Q CL2Q UC1 UCQ IC REL 11 12 15 45 52 31 4 3 90 29 C 13 8 17 51 49 9 8 21 38 63 11 9 18 34 54 14 10 14 56 50 18 12 8 57 35 15 9 14 44 53 12 7 19 42 56 26 4 8 76 36 9 13 16 40 56 8 6 24 32 72 R Aberdeen Celtic Dundee Dundee United Dunfermline Athletic Heart of Midlothian Hibernian Kilmarnock Motherwell Rangers St Johnstone St Mirren yes Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last five matches. 5 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored QR green1 Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round green2 Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round blue1 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round blue2 Qualification for the UEFA Cup qualifying round yellow1 Qualification for the UEFA Intertoto Cup first round red1 Relegation to the First Division As both finalists of the 2000–01 Scottish Cup, Celtic and Hibernian, qualified for European competition via their league position, the cup berth for 2001–02 UEFA Cup was passed to the next-placed team in the league, fourth-placed Kilmarnock. Dundee qualified for the 2001 UEFA Intertoto Cup as the highest-placed team to apply for a place in the competition. Results Matches 1–22 During matches 1–22 each team played every other team twice (home and away). main FBR grey ABE CEL DND DUN DNF HOM HIB KIL MOT RAN STJ STM Aberdeen 1–1 0–2 4–1 0–0 1–1 0–2 1–2 3–3 1–2 1–1 2–1 Celtic 6–0 1–0 2–1 3–1 6–1 3–0 2–1 1–0 6–2 4–1 2–0 Dundee 2–2 1–2 3–0 3–0 1–1 1–2 0–0 1–2 1–1 1–1 5–0 Dundee United 3–5 1–2 0–2 3–2 0–4 0–1 0–1 1–1 1–1 1–2 0–0 Dunfermline Athletic 0–0 1–2 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–2 0–0 1–1 2–0 Heart of Midlothian 3–0 2–4 3–1 3–1 2–0 0–0 0–2 3–0 0–1 0–3 2–0 Hibernian 0–2 0–0 5–1 3–0 3–0 6–2 1–1 2–0 1–0 2–0 2–0 Kilmarnock 1–0 0–1 2–3 1–0 2–1 0–3 0–1 3–2 2–4 0–2 2–1 Motherwell 1–1 3–3 0–2 2–1 0–1 2–0 1–3 1–2 0–1 4–0 2–0 Rangers 3–1 5–1 0–2 3–0 4–1 1–0 1–0 0–3 2–0 2–1 7–1 St Johnstone 0–0 0–2 0–0 1–0 0–2 2–2 0–3 1–1 2–3 2–1 2–0 St Mirren 2–0 0–2 2–1 1–1 2–1 1–2 1–1 0–1 0–1 1–3 0–1 complete Soccerbase Matches 23–33 During matches 23–33 each team played every other team once (either at home or away). This means that during matches 1-33 each team played every other team 3 times (either 1 home, 2 away or 2 home, 1 away). main FBR grey ABE CEL DND DUN DNF HOM HIB KIL MOT RAN STJ STM Aberdeen 0–1 0–2 null null 1–0 1–0 null null null 3–3 3–0 Celtic null 2–1 null null null 1–1 6–0 1–0 1–0 null 1–0 Dundee null null 2–3 0–1 0–0 null 2–2 null 0–1 null null Dundee United 1–1 0–4 null null 1–1 null null 2–0 null 1–1 4–0 Dunfermline Athletic 3–2 0–3 null 3–1 null 2–1 null null null 0–0 null Heart of Midlothian null 0–3 null null 7–1 1–1 3–0 3–0 null null 1–0 Hibernian null null 3–0 1–0 null null null 1–1 0–0 null 4–2 Kilmarnock 0–0 null null 0–0 2–1 null 1–1 1–2 1–2 null null Motherwell 0–1 null 0–3 null 1–1 null null null 1–2 1–0 null Rangers 1–0 null null 0–2 2–0 2–0 null null null 3–0 null St Johnstone null 1–2 2–3 null null 2–2 2–0 1–2 null null null St Mirren null null 2–1 null 1–1 null null 1–3 0–1 1–3 1–0 complete Soccerbase Matches 34–38 During matches 34–38 each team played every other team in their half of the table once (either at home or away). Top six main FBR grey CEL DND HOM HIB KIL RAN Celtic 0–2 1–0 null null null Dundee null null 0–2 2–1 0–3 Heart of Midlothian null 2–0 null null 1–4 Hibernian 2–5 null 0–0 1–1 null Kilmarnock 1–0 null 1–1 null null Rangers 0–3 null null 4–0 5–1 complete Soccerbase Bottom Six main FBR grey ABE DUN DNF MOT STJ STM Aberdeen 1–2 1–0 null null null Dundee United null 1–0 1–0 null null Dunfermline Athletic null null 1–2 0–0 1–2 Motherwell 0–2 null null 0–1 3–3 St Johnstone 0–3 2–3 null null 2–2 St Mirren 2–1 2–1 null null null complete Soccerbase Top scorers Player Club Goals SWE Henrik Larsson Celtic 35 NOR Arild Stavrum Aberdeen 17 ARG Juan Sara Dundee 15 NIR Andy Kirk Hearts 13 NIR Stuart Elliott Motherwell 12 SCO Colin Cameron Hearts 12 NOR Tore André Flo Rangers 11 FIN Mixu Paatelainen Hibernian 11 ENG Chris Sutton Celtic 11 FRA David Zitelli Hibernian 10 SCO Ricky Gillies St Mirren 10 SCO Keigan Parker St Johnstone 10 Source: SPL official website Attendances The average attendances for SPL clubs during the 2000/01 season are shown below: TeamAverageCeltic 59,369Rangers 47,532Hearts 12,771Aberdeen 12,403Hibernian 10,792Kilmarnock 8,223Dundee 8,041Dundee United 7,829Dunfermline Athletic 6,413Motherwell 6,208St Mirren 5,838St Johnstone 5,438 Source: SPL official website Awards Monthly awards Scottish Premier League monthly awards MonthManagerPlayerAugustNorthern Ireland Martin O'Neill (Celtic)Scotland Andy McLaren (Kilmarnock)SeptemberScotland Bobby Williamson (Kilmarnock)Sweden Henrik Larsson (Celtic)OctoberScotland Alex McLeish (Hibernian)Finland Mixu Paatelainen (Hibernian)NovemberScotland Billy Davies (Motherwell)Scotland Barry Ferguson (Rangers)DecemberNorthern Ireland Martin O'Neill (Celtic)Sweden Henrik Larsson (Celtic)January None awarded due to winter break.FebruaryNorthern Ireland Martin O'Neill (Celtic)Argentina Claudio Caniggia (Dundee)MarchScotland Alex Smith (Dundee United)Northern Ireland Neil Lennon (Celtic)AprilScotland Tom Hendrie (St Mirren)Finland Antti Niemi (Hearts)MayScotland Alex Smith (Dundee United)Germany Jörg Albertz (Rangers) Awards Player awards AwardWinnerClubPFA Players' Player of the YearSWE Henrik LarssonCelticPFA Young Player of the YearBUL Stiliyan PetrovCelticSFWA Footballer of the YearSWE Henrik LarssonCeltic Manager awards AwardWinnerClubSFWA Manager of the YearNIR Martin O'NeillCeltic See also 2000–01 Celtic F.C. season 2000–01 Rangers F.C. season Dundee United FC Season 2000-01 References Season Review – ScotPrem.co.uk Category:Scottish Premier League seasons 1 Scot