2012–13 Scottish Premier League
# 2012–13 Scottish Premier League

The 2012–13 Scottish Premier League was the fifteenth and final season of the Scottish Premier League, the highest division of Scottish football, since its inception in 1998. The season began on 4 August 2012 and ended on 19 May 2013.

Twelve teams contested the league. Ross County (champions) and Dundee (runners-up) were promoted from the 2011–12 First Division, replacing Dunfermline (relegated) and Rangers (entered administration and demoted). After the SPL clubs voted against Rangers continuing in the league, the club were accepted into the fourth tier of Scottish football, with Dundee taking their place in the SPL.

On 21 April, Celtic retained their title after a 4–1 home win against Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Celtic Park.

This was the final season of the Scottish Premier League before it was abolished in June 2013, when the SPL and SFL merged to form the new Scottish Professional Football League, with its top division being known as the Scottish Premiership.

## Teams

Dunfermline were relegated from the 2011–12 Scottish Premier League. Ross County, who won the 2011–12 Scottish First Division, were promoted. The 2012–13 season marks the top-flight debut for the Highland team.

After failing to exit administration by an agreed CVA, Rangers was replaced with the term "Club 12" when the fixture list was published on 18 June 2012. The transfer of the club's membership share of the SPL to the new company that had bought Rangers was dependent on a vote by the remaining SPL clubs. Eight clubs publicly declared that they would oppose the membership transfer, which would mean that they could not play in the SPL. The vote took place on 4 July 2012, and Rangers were refused re-entry to the SPL by a 10-1 majority. Dundee, who had finished second in the 2011–12 Scottish First Division, were invited to replace Rangers.

### Stadia and locations

| Team | Stadium | Capacity |
| - | - | - |
| Aberdeen F.C. | Pittodrie | 22,199 |
| Celtic F.C. | Celtic Park | 60,832 |
| Dundee United | Tannadice Park | 14,223 |
| Heart of Midlothian F.C. | Tynecastle Stadium | 17,420 |
| Hibernian F.C. | Easter Road | 20,241 |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | Caledonian Stadium | 7,800 |
| Kilmarnock F.C. | Rugby Park | 18,182 |
| Motherwell F.C. | Fir Park | 13,742 |
| Ross County F.C. | Victoria Park | 6,541 |
| St Johnstone F.C. | McDiarmid Park | 10,740 |
| St Mirren F.C. | St Mirren Park | 8,023 |
| Dundee F.C. | Dens Park | 11,500 |

### Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Aberdeen | Derek McInnes | Russell Anderson | Adidas | Team Recruitment |
| Celtic | Neil Lennon | Scott Brown | Nike | Tennents |
| Dundee | John Brown | Stephen O'Donnell | Puma | Kilmac Energy |
| Dundee United | Jackie McNamara | Jon Daly | Nike | Calor |
| Heart of Midlothian | Gary Locke | Marius Žaliūkas | Adidas | Wonga.com |
| Hibernian | Pat Fenlon | James McPake | Puma | Crabbie's |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | Terry Butcher | Richie Foran | Erreà | Orion Group |
| Kilmarnock | Kenny Shiels | Manuel Pascali | Killie 1869 | QTS |
| Motherwell | Stuart McCall | Keith Lasley | Puma | Cash Converters |
| Ross County | Derek Adams | Richard Brittain | Diadora | Stanley CRC Evans Offshore |
| St Johnstone | Steve Lomas | Dave Mackay | Joma | GS Brown Construction |
| St Mirren | Danny Lennon | Jim Goodwin | Diadora | Diadora |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Heart of Midlothian | Paulo Sérgio | End of contract | 7 June 2012 | Pre-season | John McGlynn | 26 June 2012 |
| Dundee United | Peter Houston | Mutual consent | 28 January 2013 | 7th | Jackie McNamara | 30 January 2013 |
| Dundee | Barry Smith | Mutual consent | 20 February 2013 | 12th | John Brown | 23 February 2013 |
| Heart of Midlothian | John McGlynn | Contract terminated | 28 February 2013 | 11th | Gary Locke | 28 February 2013 |
| Aberdeen | Craig Brown | Retired | 14 March 2013 | 9th | Derek McInnes | 25 March 2013 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Celtic (C) | 38 | 24 | 7 | 7 | 92 | 35 | +57 | 79 | Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Motherwell | 38 | 18 | 9 | 11 | 67 | 51 | +16 | 63 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 3 | St Johnstone | 38 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 45 | 44 | +1 | 56 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round |
| 4 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 38 | 13 | 15 | 10 | 64 | 60 | +4 | 54 | |
| 5 | Ross County | 38 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 47 | 48 | −1 | 53 | |
| 6 | Dundee United | 38 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 51 | 62 | −11 | 47 | |
| 7 | Hibernian | 38 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 49 | 52 | −3 | 51 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round |
| 8 | Aberdeen | 38 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 41 | 43 | −2 | 48 | |
| 9 | Kilmarnock | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 52 | 53 | −1 | 45 | |
| 10 | Heart of Midlothian | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 40 | 49 | −9 | 44 | |
| 11 | St Mirren | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 47 | 60 | −13 | 41 | |
| 12 | Dundee (R) | 38 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 28 | 66 | −38 | 30 | Relegation to the Championship |

* 1 2 3 Teams in the bottom half at the time of the split may not overtake a team in the top 6 at the time of the split.
* ↑ Since the winners of 2012–13 Scottish Cup, Celtic, qualified for European competition based on league position, the runners–up Hibernian secured a spot in Europa League second qualifying round.

## Results

### Matches 1–22

Teams play each other twice, once at home, once away

| Home \ Away | ABE | CEL | DND | DUN | HOM | HIB | INV | KIL | MOT | ROS | STJ | STM |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Aberdeen | | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Celtic | 1–0 | | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Dundee | 1–3 | 0–2 | | 0–3 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 |
| Dundee United | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | | 0–3 | 3–0 | 4–4 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–4 |
| Heart of Midlothian | 2–0 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 2–1 | | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| Hibernian | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 1–1 | 2–4 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | | 1–1 | 1–5 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Kilmarnock | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 |
| Motherwell | 4–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 4–1 | 2–2 | | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Ross County | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | | 1–2 | 0–0 |
| St Johnstone | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | | 2–1 |
| St Mirren | 1–4 | 0–5 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 5–4 | 1–1 | |

### Matches 23–33

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

| Home \ Away | ABE | CEL | DND | DUN | HOM | HIB | INV | KIL | MOT | ROS | STJ | STM |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Aberdeen | | | 1–0 | | 2–0 | 0–0 | | | 0–0 | 0–1 | | 0–0 |
| Celtic | 4–3 | | 5–0 | 6–2 | 4–1 | 3–0 | | 4–1 | | | | |
| Dundee | | | | | | | 1–1 | | 0–3 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 |
| Dundee United | 1–0 | | 1–1 | | 3–1 | 2–2 | | | | 1–1 | | |
| Heart of Midlothian | | | 1–0 | | | | 2–3 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 2–0 | |
| Hibernian | | | 1–1 | | 0–0 | | 1–2 | 2–2 | | | 1–3 | |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 3–0 | 1–3 | | 0–0 | | | | 1–1 | | 2–1 | 0–0 | |
| Kilmarnock | 1–1 | | 1–2 | 2–3 | | | | | 2–0 | | | 1–1 |
| Motherwell | | 2–1 | | 0–1 | | 4–1 | 3–0 | | | | 3–2 | 2–2 |
| Ross County | | 3–2 | | | | 1–0 | | 0–1 | 3–0 | | 1–0 | |
| St Johnstone | 3–1 | 1–1 | | 1–1 | | | | 2–0 | | | | 1–0 |
| St Mirren | | 1–1 | | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | | | 1–4 | | |

### Matches 34–38

After 33 matches, the league splits 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 are determined upon the league table at the time of the split.

## Season statistics

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Michael Higdon | Motherwell | Inverness CT | 4–1 | 1 September 2012 |
| Cillian Sheridan | Kilmarnock | Heart of Midlothian | 3–1 | 29 September 2012 |
| Billy McKay | Inverness CT | Dundee United | 4–4 | 15 December 2012 |
| Niall McGinn | Aberdeen | Dundee | 3–1 | 15 December 2012 |
| Johnny Russell | Dundee United | Kilmarnock | 3–2 | 19 January 2013 |
| Michael Higdon | Motherwell | St Johnstone | 3–2 | 20 January 2013 |
| Paul Heffernan | Kilmarnock | Heart of Midlothian | 3–0 | 16 February 2013 |
| Billy McKay | Inverness CT | Motherwell | 4–3 | 4 May 2013 |

### Scoring

* First goal of the season: Kris Commons for Celtic against Aberdeen (4 August 2012)
* Fastest goal of the season: 12 seconds, Kris Commons for Celtic against Aberdeen (16 March 2013)
* Latest goal of the season: 94 minutes, Georgios Samaras for Celtic against Aberdeen (16 March 2013)
* Largest winning margin: 5 goals
   * St Mirren 0–5 Celtic (20 October 2012)
   * Celtic 5–0 Dundee (24 February 2013)
* Highest scoring game: 9 goals
   * St Mirren 5–4 Ross County (29 September 2012)
* Most goals scored in a match by a single team: 6 goals
   * Celtic 6–2 Dundee United (16 February 2013)
* Most goals scored in a match by a losing team: 4 goals
   * St Mirren 5–4 Ross County (29 September 2012)

### Clean sheets

* Most clean sheets: 16
   * Celtic
* Fewest clean sheets: 5
   * Dundee

### Discipline

* Most yellow cards (club): 76
   * Ross County
* Most yellow cards (player): 11
   * Iain Davidson (Dundee)
   * James Fowler (Kilmarnock)
   * Jim Goodwin (St Mirren)
* Most red cards (club): 6
   * Dundee
   * Motherwell
   * St Johnstone
* Most red cards (player): 2
   * Jim Goodwin (St Mirren)
   * Owain Tudur Jones (Inverness CT)
   * Rowan Vine (St Johnstone)

## Awards

### Monthly awards

| Month | Manager | Player | Young Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| August | Derek Adams (Ross County) | Leigh Griffiths (Hibernian) | Tony Watt (Celtic) |
| September | Steve Lomas (St Johnstone) | Michael Higdon (Motherwell) | Ryan Fraser (Aberdeen) |
| October | Craig Brown (Aberdeen) | Niall McGinn (Aberdeen) | Ryan Fraser (Aberdeen) |
| November | Terry Butcher (Inverness CT) | Billy McKay (Inverness CT) | Aaron Doran (Inverness CT) |
| December | Neil Lennon (Celtic) | Jamie Murphy (Motherwell) | Joe Shaughnessy (Aberdeen) |
| January | Derek Adams (Ross County) | Gary Hooper (Celtic) | Adam Matthews (Celtic) |
| February | Derek Adams (Ross County) | Leigh Griffiths (Hibernian) | Stuart Armstrong (Dundee United) |
| March | Stuart McCall (Motherwell) | Nicky Law (Motherwell) | Josh Meekings (Inverness CT) |
| April | John Brown (Dundee) | Michael Higdon (Motherwell) | Henrik Ojamaa (Motherwell) |
