2014–15 Scottish Premiership

The 2014–15 Scottish Premiership was the second season of the Scottish Premiership, the highest division of Scottish football. The season began on 9 August 2014[2] and ended on the 31 May 2015. Celtic were the defending champions.

Scottish Premiership
Season2014–15
Dates9 August 2014 – 31 May 2015
ChampionsCeltic
2nd Premiership title
46th Scottish title
RelegatedSt Mirren
Champions LeagueCeltic
Europa LeagueAberdeen
Inverness CT
St Johnstone
Matches played228
Goals scored587 (2.57 per match)
Top goalscorerAdam Rooney (18)
Biggest home winCeltic 6–1 Dundee United
(16 August 2014)

Hamilton 5–0 Motherwell
(1 January 2015)
Partick Thistle 5–0 Hamilton
(21 January 2015)

Celtic 5–0 Dundee
(1 May 2015)
Biggest away winRoss County 0–5 Celtic
(18 October 2014)
Highest scoringDundee United 6–2 Dundee
(1 January 2015)
Longest winning run8 games[1]
Aberdeen
Celtic
Longest unbeaten run12 games[1]
Aberdeen
Longest winless run11 games[1]
Ross County
Longest losing run7 games[1]
Ross County
Highest attendance55,638[1]
Celtic 5–0 Inverness CT
(24 May 2015)
Lowest attendance1,544[1]
Hamilton Academical 2-2 Ross County
(14 March 2015)
Average attendance8,806 (1,377)[1]
All statistics correct as of 23 August 2017.

Twelve teams contested the league: Aberdeen, Celtic, Dundee, Dundee United, Hamilton Academical, Inverness CT, Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Partick Thistle, Ross County, St Johnstone and St Mirren. Due to the relegation of Edinburgh-based teams Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian in 2014, this season marked the first time in football history in which Scotland's capital city had no representatives in the top league.

On 2 May, Celtic clinched their fourth title in a row after Aberdeen lost 1–0 away at Dundee United, leaving Celtic 11 points clear with three games to play.[3][4]

Teams

Dundee were promoted from the Scottish Championship. Heart of Midlothian were relegated from the Scottish Premiership.

Hibernian finished in the play-off position in the Scottish Premiership. They lost to Hamilton Academical who took the final place in the second edition of the competition, a result which left the Scottish capital Edinburgh without a club in the top flight of Scottish football for the 2014–15 season.

Stadiums by capacity and locations
Aberdeen Celtic Dundee Dundee United
Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen Celtic Park, Glasgow Dens Park, Dundee Tannadice Park, Dundee
Capacity: 20,897[5] Capacity: 60,355[6] Capacity: 11,506[7] Capacity: 14,229[8]
Hamilton Academical
Location of teams in 2014–15 Scottish Premiership
 Inverness Caledonian Thistle
New Douglas Park, Hamilton Caledonian Stadium, Inverness
Capacity: 6,078[9] Capacity: 7,800[10]
Kilmarnock Motherwell
Rugby Park, Kilmarnock Fir Park, Motherwell
Capacity: 18,128[11] Capacity: 13,677[12]
Partick Thistle Ross County St Johnstone St Mirren
Firhill Stadium, Glasgow Victoria Park, Dingwall McDiarmid Park, Perth St Mirren Park, Paisley
Capacity: 10,102[13] Capacity: 6,541[14] Capacity: 10,696[15] Capacity: 8,023[16]

Personnel and kits
Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Aberdeen Derek McInnes Russell Anderson Adidas Saltire Energy
Celtic Ronny Deila Scott Brown Nike Magners
Dundee Paul Hartley Kevin Thomson Puma Hangar Records
Dundee United Jackie McNamara Seán Dillon Nike Calor
Hamilton Academical Martin Canning Martin Canning 1874 Accies, Nike M&H Logistics (H), Life Skills Centres (A)
Inverness CT John Hughes Richie Foran Erreà Subway
Kilmarnock Gary Locke Manuel Pascali Erreà QTS
Motherwell Ian Baraclough Keith Lasley Macron Cash Converters
Partick Thistle Alan Archibald Sean Welsh Joma macb
Ross County Jim McIntyre Richard Brittain Carbrini Stanley CRC Evans Offshore
St Johnstone Tommy Wright Dave Mackay Joma GS Brown Construction
St Mirren Gary Teale Steven Thompson Carbrini JD Sports

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
St Mirren Danny Lennon End of contract 12 May 2014[17] Pre-season Tommy Craig 13 May 2014[18]
Celtic Neil Lennon Resigned 22 May 2014[19] Pre-season Ronny Deila 6 June 2014[20]
Ross County Derek Adams Sacked 28 August 2014[21] 12th Jim McIntyre 9 September 2014[22]
Motherwell Stuart McCall Resigned 2 November 2014[23] 11th Ian Baraclough 13 December 2014[24]
St Mirren Tommy Craig Sacked 9 December 2014[25] 11th Gary Teale 29 January 2015
Hamilton Academical Alex Neil Signed by Norwich City 9 January 2015[26] 3rd Martin Canning 23 January 2015[27]
Kilmarnock Allan Johnston Resigned 6 February 2015[28] 8th Gary Locke 6 February 2015 (interim)

Tournament format and regulations

Basic

In the initial phase of the season, the 12 teams played a round-robin tournament whereby each team played each one of the other teams three times. After 33 games, the league split into two sections of six teams, with each team playing each other in that section. The league attempts to balance the fixture list so that teams in the same section play each other twice at home and twice away, but sometimes this is impossible. A total of 228 matches were played, with 38 matches played by each team.

Promotion and relegation

The team that finished 12th (St Mirren) was relegated to the Championship, while the champion of that league (Heart of Midlothian) was promoted to the Premiership for the 2015–16 season. The team that finished 11th in the Premiership (Motherwell) played the winner of the Championship playoffs (Rangers) in two playoff games, with the winner (Motherwell) securing a Premiership spot for the 2015–16 season.

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Celtic (C) 38 29 5 4 84 17 +67 92 Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round
2 Aberdeen 38 23 6 9 57 33 +24 75 Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round
3 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 38 19 8 11 52 42 +10 65 Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round[lower-alpha 1]
4 St Johnstone 38 16 9 13 34 34 0 57 Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round
5 Dundee United 38 17 5 16 58 56 +2 56
6 Dundee[lower-alpha 2] 38 11 12 15 46 57 −11 45
7 Hamilton Academical 38 15 8 15 50 53 −3 53
8 Partick Thistle 38 12 10 16 48 44 +4 46
9 Ross County 38 12 8 18 46 63 −17 44
10 Kilmarnock 38 11 8 19 44 59 −15 41
11 Motherwell (O) 38 10 6 22 38 63 −25 36 Qualification for the Premiership play-off final
12 St Mirren (R) 38 9 3 26 30 66 −36 30 Relegation to the Championship
Source: SPFL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (R) Relegated.
Notes:
  1. Inverness Caledonian Thistle qualified for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League by winning the 2014–15 Scottish Cup.
  2. Teams in the bottom six at the time of the split (33 games) cannot pass teams in the top six

Results

Matches 1–22

Teams played each other twice, once at home, once away.

Home \ Away ABE CEL DND DUN HAM INV KIL MOT PAR ROS STJ STM
Aberdeen 1–2 3–3 0–3 3–0 3–2 1–0 1–0 2–0 3–0 2–0 2–2
Celtic 2–1 2–1 6–1 0–1 1–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 0–0 0–1 4–1
Dundee 2–3 1–1 1–4 2–0 1–2 1–1 4–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–3
Dundee United 0–2 2–1 6–2 2–2 1–1 3–1 1–0 1–0 2–1 2–0 3–0
Hamilton Academical 3–0 0–2 2–1 2–3 0–2 0–0 5–0 3–3 4–0 1–0 3–0
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 0–1 1–0 0–0 1–0 4–2 2–0 3–1 0–4 1–1 2–1 1–0
Kilmarnock 0–2 0–2 1–3 2–0 1–0 1–2 2–0 3–0 0–3 0–1 2–1
Motherwell 0–2 0–1 1–3 1–0 0–4 0–2 1–1 1–0 2–2 0–1 1–0
Partick Thistle 0–1 0–3 1–1 2–2 1–2 3–1 1–1 3–1 4–0 0–0 1–2
Ross County 0–1 0–5 2–1 2–3 0–1 1–3 1–2 1–2 1–0 1–2 1–2
St Johnstone 1–0 0–3 0–1 2–1 0–1 1–0 1–2 2–1 2–0 2–1 1–2
St Mirren 0–2 1–2 0–1 0–3 0–2 0–1 1–2 0–1 0–1 2–2 0–1
Source: Scottish Premiership
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 23–33

Teams played every other team once (either at home or away).

Home \ Away ABE CEL DND DUN HAM INV KIL MOT PAR ROS STJ STM
Aberdeen 1–0 1–0 2–1 0–0 4–0 3–0
Celtic 4–0 3–0 4–0 4–1 4–0 2–0
Dundee 1–1 1–2 3–1 1–1 1–0 1–0
Dundee United 1–0 3–1 0–2 1–2 0–2
Hamilton Academical 0–3 0–2 0–0 2–2 1–1
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1–1 1–1 2–1 3–3 1–1 2–0
Kilmarnock 1–2 3–2 1–2 2–2 1–0
Motherwell 0–1 4–0 2–1 1–1 5–0
Partick Thistle 5–0 1–0 2–0 1–3 3–0 0–1
Ross County 0–1 1–0 2–1 3–2 1–0
St Johnstone 1–1 1–2 1–0 0–0 2–0
St Mirren 0–2 1–2 1–1 1–0 1–2 0–3
Source: Scottish Premiership
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 34–38

After 33 matches, the league split into two sections of six teams each, with teams playing every other team in their section once (either at home or away). The exact matches were determined upon the league table at the time of the split.

Top scorers
As of 24 May 2015[29][30]
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Adam Rooney Aberdeen 18
2 Leigh Griffiths Celtic 14
Nadir Çiftçi Dundee United 14
4 Greg Stewart Dundee 13
5 Anthony Andreu Hamilton Academical 12
John Sutton Motherwell 12
7 Ali Crawford Hamilton Academical 11
8 Billy McKay Inverness Caledonian Thistle 10
Liam Boyce Ross County 10
Kris Commons Celtic 10

Premiership play-offs

First leg
Queen of the South1–2Rangers
Lyle  64' BBC Report Smith  44'
Shiels  75'
Attendance: 5,224
Referee: Alan Muir

Second leg
Rangers1–1Queen of the South
Wallace  60' BBC Report Lyle  35'
Attendance: 48,035
Referee: Kevin Clancy

Rangers won 3–2 on aggregate.

First leg
Rangers2–0Hibernian
Clark  44'
Miller  63'		 BBC Report
Attendance: 41,236
Referee: Calum Murray

Second leg
Hibernian1–0Rangers
Cummings  90+4' BBC Report
Attendance: 14,742
Referee: John Beaton

Rangers won 2–1 on aggregate.

First leg
Rangers1–3Motherwell
McGregor  82' BBC Report Erwin  27'
McManus  40'
Ainsworth  47'
Attendance: 49,200
Referee: Bobby Madden

Second leg
Motherwell3–0Rangers
Johnson  52'
Ainsworth  70'
Sutton  90+3' (pen.)		 BBC Report
Attendance: 9,220
Referee: Craig Thomson

Motherwell won 6–1 on aggregate.

References
  1. "2014–15 Scottish Premiership statistics". ESPN FC. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  2. "Scottish Premiership 2014/15 campaign set for start on August 9". STV. 6 March 2014. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  3. "Celtic retain Premiership title". SPFL. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  4. "Celtic win Scottish Premiership title after Aberdeen lose". BBC Sport. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  5. "Aberdeen Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  6. "Celtic Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  7. "Dundee Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  8. "Dundee United Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  9. "Hamilton Academical Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  10. "Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  11. "Kilmarnock Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  12. "Motherwell Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  13. "Partick Thistle Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  14. "Ross County Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  15. "St Johnstone Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  16. "St Mirren Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  17. "Danny Lennon: St Mirren decide not to offer manager new contract". BBC Sport. BBC. 12 May 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  18. "St Mirren: Tommy Craig appointed as Danny Lennon's successor". BBC Sport. BBC. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  19. "Celtic: Neil Lennon ends his four-year spell as manager". BBC Sport. BBC. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  20. "Celtic: Ronny Deila named new manager of Scottish champions". BBC Sport. BBC. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  21. "Ross County sack manager Derek Adams and his father George". BBC Sport. BBC. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  22. "Ross County: Jim McIntyre joins from Queen of the South". BBC Sport. BBC. 9 September 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  23. "Stuart McCall: Motherwell manager resigns after five straight defeats". BBC Sport. BBC. 2 November 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  24. "Motherwell: Ian Baraclough is new manager at Fir Park". BBC Sport. BBC. 13 December 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  25. "St Mirren: Tommy Craig exits as manager after 19 games". BBC Sport. BBC. 9 December 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  26. "Alex Neil: Norwich City appoint Hamilton player-manager as boss". BBC Sport. 9 January 2015.
  27. "Hamilton Academical: Martin Canning becomes new manager". BBC Sport. 23 January 2015.
  28. "Allan Johnston: Kilmarnock manager relieved of duties". BBC Sport. 6 February 2015.
  29. "Top scorers". ESPN. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  30. BBC - Scottish Premiership - Top Scorers
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