2000–01 Scottish Premier League
| Season | 2000–01 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Celtic |
| Relegated | St Mirren |
| Champions League | Celtic Rangers |
| UEFA Cup | Hibernian Kilmarnock |
| Intertoto Cup | Dundee |
| Goals scored | 605 |
| Average goals/game | 2.65 |
| Top goalscorer | Henrik Larsson (35) |
| Biggest home win | 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) |
| Biggest away win | Dundee United 0–4 Celtic (26 December) Dundee United 0–4 Hearts (14 October) |
| Highest attendance | 60,440, Celtic 1–0 St Mirren (7 April) |
| Lowest attendance | 2,610, Dunfermline Athletic 1–2 Motherwell (12 May) |
| Average attendance | 15,905 |
2001–02 → | |
The 2000–01 Scottish Premier League was the third season of the Scottish Premier League. It began on 29 July 2000.
Celtic finished the season as league champions by a 15-point margin over neighbouring Rangers, also winning both of the domestic cups in their first season under the management of Martin O'Neill.
Overview
2000–01 saw the Scottish Premier League expanded from 10 to 12 clubs, with the league 'split' introduced. 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. The new format received widespread criticism from SPL managers.[1][2][3]
The 2000–01 title was won by Celtic - their first SPL title, won in Martin O'Neill's first season as manager of the club. Rangers finished second, 15 points behind their Old Firm-rivals. 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. As champions, Celtic qualified for the Champions League, as did second-placed Rangers, with Scotland gaining two Champions League berths for the first time. 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.
Promotion and relegation from 1999–00
Promoted from First Division to Premier League
Relegation from Premier League to First Division
- No team was relegated. Falkirk's Brockville Stadium did not meet SPL requirements. This prevented Falkirk (3rd in Division 1) from featuring in a three-way round-robin play-off involving the Division 1 runner up (Dunfermline), and tenth place in the SPL (Aberdeen) from which the top two sides would have played in the following season's SPL.
League table
| P | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celtic | 38 | 31 | 4 | 3 | 90 | 29 | +61 | 97 | 2001–02 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round |
| 2 | Rangers | 38 | 26 | 4 | 8 | 76 | 36 | +40 | 82 | 2001–02 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round |
| 3 | Hibernian | 38 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 57 | 35 | +22 | 66 | 2001–02 UEFA Cup First round |
| 4 | Kilmarnock | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 44 | 53 | –9 | 54 | 2001–02 UEFA Cup Qualifying round |
| 5 | Hearts | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 56 | 50 | +6 | 52 | |
| 6 | Dundee | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 51 | 49 | +2 | 47 | UEFA Intertoto Cup First round |
| 7 | Aberdeen | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 45 | 52 | –7 | 45 | |
| 8 | Motherwell | 38 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 42 | 56 | –14 | 43 | |
| 9 | Dunfermline Athletic | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 34 | 54 | –20 | 42 | |
| 10 | St Johnstone | 38 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 40 | 56 | –16 | 40 | |
| 11 | Dundee United | 38 | 9 | 8 | 21 | 38 | 63 | –25 | 35 | |
| 12 | St Mirren | 38 | 8 | 6 | 24 | 32 | 72 | –40 | 30 | Relegated to 2001–02 First Division |
Source: SPL official website
Results
Matches 1–22
During matches 1–22 each team played every other team twice (home and away).
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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).
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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 scorers
| Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|
 Henrik Larsson |
Celtic | 35 |
 Arild Stavrum |
Aberdeen | 17 |
 Juan Sara |
Dundee | 15 |
 Andy Kirk |
Hearts | 13 |
| Stuart Elliott |
Motherwell | 12 |
 Colin Cameron |
Hearts | 12 |
| Tore André Flo |
Rangers | 11 |
 Mixu Paatelainen |
Hibernian | 11 |
 Chris Sutton |
Celtic | 11 |
 David Zitelli |
Hibernian | 10 |
| Ricky Gillies |
St Mirren | 10 |
| Keigan Parker |
St Johnstone | 10 |
Source: SPL official website
Attendances
The average attendances for SPL clubs during the 2000/01 season are shown below:
| Team | Average |
|---|---|
| Celtic | 59,369 |
| Rangers | 47,532 |
| Hearts | 12,771 |
| Aberdeen | 12,403 |
| Hibernian | 10,792 |
| Kilmarnock | 8,223 |
| Dundee | 8,041 |
| Dundee United | 7,829 |
| Dunfermline Athletic | 6,413 |
| Motherwell | 6,208 |
| St Mirren | 5,838 |
| St Johnstone | 5,438 |
Source: SPL official website
Monthly awards
| Month | Manager | Player |
|---|---|---|
| August | Martin O'Neill (Celtic)
|
Andy McLaren (Kilmarnock)
|
| September | Bobby Williamson (Kilmarnock)
|
Henrik Larsson (Celtic)
|
| October | Alex McLeish (Hibernian)
|
Mixu Paatelainen (Hibernian)
|
| November | Billy Davies (Motherwell)
|
Barry Ferguson (Rangers)
|
| December | Martin O'Neill (Celtic)
|
Barry Ferguson (Rangers)
|
| January | None awarded due to winter break. | |
| February | Martin O'Neill (Celtic)
|
Claudio Caniggia (Dundee)
|
| March | Alex Smith (Dundee United)
|
Neil Lennon (Celtic)
|
| April | Tom Hendrie (St Mirren)
|
Antti Niemi (Hearts)
|
| May | Alex Smith (Dundee United)
|
 Jörg Albertz (Rangers)
|
References
- ^ "YOU'RE TOO LATE NOW; Dick blast at SPL bosses". The Mirror. 7 February 2001. Retrieved 24 April 2008.
- ^ "SPL split will Pitt us in a right fix; SAYS EBBE SKOVDAHL". BBC Sport. 7 February 2001. Retrieved 24 April 2008.
- ^ "Fear factor worries McLeish". BBC Sport. 9 July 2000. Retrieved 24 April 2008.