2005–06 Scottish Premier League

Bank of Scotland Premierleague

Season	2005–06
Champions	Celtic
Relegated	Livingston
Champions League	Celtic Hearts
UEFA Cup	Rangers Gretna
Intertoto Cup	Hibernian
Top goalscorer	Kris Boyd (32)
Biggest home win	Hibernian 7–0 Livingston
Biggest away win	Dunfermline 1–8 Celtic
← 2004–05 2006–07 →

The 2005–06 Scottish Premier League was won by Celtic, with a 17-point margin over their nearest challengers Hearts in the first season under the management of Gordon Strachan. Rangers, who finished third, failed to finish a Scottish top flight campaign as champions or runners-up for the first time since 1988.

As league champions, Celtic qualified for the UEFA Champions League, with runners-up Hearts also qualifying. This marked the first time since 1995 that a club outside the Old Firm of Celtic and Rangers finished in the top two. Third-placed Rangers qualified for the UEFA Cup, as did Scottish Second Division champions Gretna, who took the Scottish Cup place despite losing the final to Hearts.

Livingston were relegated, and Scottish First Division winners St. Mirren were promoted.

Kris Boyd was the top scorer with 32 goals (17 for Rangers after 15 for Kilmarnock).

Promotion and relegation from 2004–05

Promoted from First Division to Premier League

• Falkirk

Relegated from Premier League to First Division

• Dundee

Table

P	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Celtic	38	28	7	3	93	37	+56	91	2006–07 UEFA Champions League Group stage
2	Hearts	38	22	8	8	71	31	+40	74	2006–07 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round
3	Rangers	38	21	10	7	67	37	+30	73	2006–07 UEFA Cup First round
4	Hibernian	38	17	5	16	61	56	+5	56	2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup Second round
5	Kilmarnock	38	15	10	13	63	64	–1	55
6	Aberdeen	38	13	15	10	46	40	+6	54
7	Inverness CT	38	15	13	10	51	38	+13	58
8	Motherwell	38	13	10	15	55	61	–6	49
9	Dundee United	38	7	12	19	41	66	–25	33
10	Falkirk	38	8	9	21	35	64	–29	33
11	Dunfermline Athletic	38	8	9	21	33	68	–35	33
12	Livingston	38	4	6	28	25	79	–54	18	Relegated to 2006–07 First Division

Source: SPL official website

Top scorers

Player	Club	Goals
Kris Boyd	Kilmarnock / Rangers	32
John Hartson	Celtic	18
Craig Dargo	Inverness CT	16
Derek Riordan	Hibernian	16
Rudi Skácel	Hearts	16
Maciej Żurawski	Celtic	16
Paul Hartley	Hearts	14
Peter Løvenkrands	Rangers	14
Shaun Maloney	Celtic	13
Steven Naismith	Kilmarnock	13
Mark Burchill	Dunfermline Athletic	12
Richie Foran	Motherwell	11

Source: SPL official website

Attendances

The average attendances for SPL clubs during the 2005/06 season are shown below:

Team	Average
Celtic	58,149
Rangers	49,245
Hearts	16,767
Hibernian	13,816
Aberdeen	12,727
Dundee United	8,197
Kilmarnock	7,070
Dunfermline Athletic	6,260
Motherwell	6,250
Falkirk	5,515
Inverness CT	5,061
Livingston	4,938

Source: SPL official website

Monthly awards

Main article: Scottish Premier League monthly awards

Month	Manager	Player	Young Player
August	George Burley (Hearts)	Rudolf Skácel (Hearts)	Steven Naismith (Kilmarnock)
September	George Burley (Hearts)	Andy Webster (Hearts)	Kevin Thomson (Hibernian)
October	Gordon Strachan (Celtic)	Stilian Petrov (Celtic)	Darryl Duffy (Falkirk)
November	Tony Mowbray (Hibernian)	Kris Boyd (Kilmarnock)	Aiden McGeady (Celtic)
December	Craig Brewster (Inverness CT)	Peter Løvenkrands (Rangers)	Calum Elliot (Hearts)
January	Alex McLeish (Rangers)	Kris Boyd (Rangers)	Steven Naismith (Kilmarnock)
February	Jimmy Calderwood (Aberdeen)	Maciej Żurawski (Celtic)	Charlie Mulgrew (Dundee United)
March	Terry Butcher (Motherwell)	Steven Naismith (Kilmarnock)	Brian McLean (Motherwell)
April	Jimmy Calderwood (Aberdeen)	Paul Hartley (Hearts)	Steven Smith (Rangers)