SPL end of season report card

The SPL season is over but who have been the winners and losers over the 38 games of the season.

Team by team…

Celtic – mixed season for Celtic for me, they did win their first Championship in four seasons and deservedly so. But they failed dramatically in the Cups when the expectations were they would win a treble – SATISFACTORY PROGRESS

Rangers – Season was obviously overtaken by the financial meltdown off the pitch. This had an impact on the field, they did manage to hold on to second place but were knocked out early in the Cups – POOR, MUST DO BETTER

Motherwell – third place finish was way ahead of anything their fans would have thought at the start of the season and as a by-product have qualified for the Champions League. Did lose to Hibs andAberdeenin the Cups but overall did well – TOP PERFORMANCE

DundeeUtd – looked as though they would be heading for a poor season in the early stages as they struggled in the bottom six, but a settled side and a storming finish saw them reach fourth, and almost pip Motherwell for third. – STEADY IMPROVEMENT

Hearts – more troubled financial times for Hearts with players not being paid on time, and this led to a struggle at times in the League and fifth would be seen as an underachievement for a club this size. A Cup win on Sat may offset some of the disappointment – MUST DO BETTER

St.Johnstone – despite a change in manager in mid season Saints managed to continue their excellent start to the season and finished sixth. They now have to sweat on the result of the Cup Final to see if they pick up a Europa League place. Failure to do so may take the edge off the season – STEADY IMPROVEMENT

Kilmarnock – Won the League Cup against Celtic, but dropped two places in the League despite all the rhetoric from Kenny Shiels who believes history has been written all season at Rugby Park – as far as the SPL is concerned – MUST DO BETTER

St.Mirren – Started the season well but faded after the New Year and a top six slipped away from them, but on the plus side they finished in the best position they ever have in the SPL – GOOD ACHIEVEMENT.

Aberdeen– Another season of major underachievement for the once mighty Dons, no success in Cups and a NINTH place finish, which has seen crowds plummet at Pittodrie. This means another re-building job in the summer with all the risks this has had for the Dons in recent years – BIG IMPROVEMENT REQUIRED

Inverness– another season of consolidation for the highlanders, Terry Butcher made a many changes in the summer and they have been clear of relegation most of the season but have been inconsistent – STEADY PROGRESS MADE

Hibs – what can we say about Hibs, whose season has been a shambles, two managers and then jut scraping clear of relegation in last couple of games. As with Hearts a Cup win could take the edge off of that. – MAJOR IMPROVEMENT NEEDED

Dunfermline– despite a decent start the Pars inability to defend cost them dear and ultimately their place in the SPL. – HARD WORK REQUIRED.