1976–77 in Scottish football
# 1976–77 in Scottish football

Season 1976–1977 was the 104th season of competitive football in Scotland and the 80th season of Scottish league football.

After the failure of the Spring Cup and the 26-game season in the First and Second Divisions, a 39-game season was instituted in these divisions with a slight imbalance in the number of home and away games played by each team; however, this was seen as preferable to a lengthy 52-game season.

## Scottish Premier Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Celtic (C) | 36 | 23 | 9 | 4 | 79 | 39 | +40 | 55 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Rangers | 36 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 62 | 37 | +25 | 46 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 3 | Aberdeen | 36 | 16 | 11 | 9 | 56 | 42 | +14 | 43 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Dundee United | 36 | 16 | 9 | 11 | 54 | 45 | +9 | 41 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Partick Thistle | 36 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 40 | 44 | −4 | 35 | |
| 6 | Hibernian | 36 | 8 | 18 | 10 | 34 | 35 | −1 | 34 | |
| 7 | Motherwell | 36 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 57 | 60 | −3 | 32 | |
| 8 | Ayr United | 36 | 11 | 8 | 17 | 44 | 68 | −24 | 30 | |
| 9 | Heart of Midlothian (R) | 36 | 7 | 13 | 16 | 49 | 66 | −17 | 27 | Relegation to the 1977–78 Scottish First Division |
| 10 | Kilmarnock (R) | 36 | 4 | 9 | 23 | 32 | 71 | −39 | 17 | Relegation to the 1977–78 Scottish First Division |

Champions: Celtic

Relegated: Hearts, Kilmarnock

## Scottish League First Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | St Mirren (C, P) | 39 | 25 | 12 | 2 | 91 | 38 | +53 | 62 | Promotion to Premier Division |
| 2 | Clydebank (P) | 39 | 24 | 10 | 5 | 89 | 38 | +51 | 58 | Promotion to Premier Division |
| 3 | Dundee | 39 | 21 | 9 | 9 | 90 | 55 | +35 | 51 | |
| 4 | Morton | 39 | 20 | 10 | 9 | 77 | 52 | +25 | 50 | |
| 5 | Montrose | 39 | 16 | 9 | 14 | 61 | 62 | −1 | 41 | |
| 6 | Airdrieonians | 39 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 63 | 58 | +5 | 38 | |
| 7 | Dumbarton | 39 | 14 | 9 | 16 | 63 | 68 | −5 | 37 | |
| 8 | Arbroath | 39 | 17 | 3 | 19 | 46 | 62 | −16 | 37 | |
| 9 | Queen of the South | 39 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 58 | 65 | −7 | 35 | |
| 10 | Hamilton Academical | 39 | 11 | 10 | 18 | 44 | 59 | −15 | 32 | |
| 11 | St Johnstone | 39 | 8 | 13 | 18 | 42 | 64 | −22 | 29 | |
| 12 | East Fife | 39 | 8 | 13 | 18 | 40 | 71 | −31 | 29 | |
| 13 | Raith Rovers (R) | 39 | 8 | 11 | 20 | 45 | 68 | −23 | 27 | Relegation to Second Division |
| 14 | Falkirk (R) | 39 | 6 | 8 | 25 | 36 | 85 | −49 | 20 | Relegation to Second Division |

Promoted: St. Mirren, Clydebank

Relegated: Raith Rovers, Falkirk

## Scottish League Second Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Stirling Albion | 39 | 22 | 11 | 6 | 59 | 29 | +30 | 55 | Promotion to the 1977–78 First Division |
| 2 | Alloa Athletic | 39 | 19 | 13 | 7 | 73 | 45 | +28 | 51 | Promotion to the 1977–78 First Division |
| 3 | Dunfermline Athletic | 39 | 20 | 10 | 9 | 52 | 36 | +16 | 50 | |
| 4 | Stranraer | 39 | 20 | 6 | 13 | 74 | 53 | +21 | 46 | |
| 5 | Queen's Park | 39 | 17 | 11 | 11 | 65 | 51 | +14 | 45 | |
| 6 | Albion Rovers | 39 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 74 | 61 | +13 | 42 | |
| 7 | Clyde | 39 | 15 | 11 | 13 | 68 | 64 | +4 | 41 | |
| 8 | Berwick Rangers | 39 | 13 | 10 | 16 | 37 | 51 | −14 | 36 | |
| 9 | Stenhousemuir | 39 | 15 | 5 | 19 | 38 | 49 | −11 | 35 | |
| 10 | East Stirlingshire | 39 | 12 | 8 | 19 | 47 | 63 | −16 | 32 | |
| 11 | Meadowbank Thistle | 39 | 8 | 16 | 15 | 41 | 57 | −16 | 32 | |
| 12 | Cowdenbeath | 39 | 13 | 5 | 21 | 46 | 64 | −18 | 31 | |
| 13 | Brechin City | 39 | 7 | 12 | 20 | 51 | 77 | −26 | 26 | |
| 14 | Forfar Athletic | 39 | 7 | 10 | 22 | 43 | 68 | −25 | 24 | |

Promoted: Stirling Albion, Alloa Athletic

## Cup honours

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| - | - | - | - |
| Scottish Cup 1976–77 | Celtic | 1 – 0 | Rangers |
| League Cup 1976–77 | Aberdeen | 2 – 1 (a.e.t.) | Celtic |
| Junior Cup | Kilbirnie Ladeside | 3 – 1 | Kirkintilloch Rob Roy |

## Other honours

### National

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| - | - | - | - |
| Scottish Qualifying Cup - North | Peterhead | 2 – 1 | Inverness Caledonian |
| Scottish Qualifying Cup - South | Selkirk | 2 – 1 * † | Civil Service Strollers |

### County

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| - | - | - | - |
| Aberdeenshire Cup | Peterhead | | |
| Ayrshire Cup | Ayr United | 2 – 2 ‡ | Kilmarnock |
| East of Scotland Shield | Hibernian | 1 – 0 | Hearts |
| Fife Cup | Dunfermline Athletic | 5 – 2 * | Cowdenbeath |
| Forfarshire Cup | Dundee United | 3 – 0 | Arbroath |
| Lanarkshire Cup | Motherwell | | Airdrie |
| Renfrewshire Cup | St Mirren | 5 – 2 * | Morton |
| Stirlingshire Cup | Stirling Albion | 0 – 0 ‡ | Clydebank |

$^*$ - aggregate over two legs † - play off ‡ - won on penalties

### Highland League

Top Three :

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Inverness Caledonian | 30 | 21 | 4 | 5 | 80 | 31 | +49 | 46 |
| 2 | Peterhead | 30 | 21 | 4 | 5 | 77 | 35 | +42 | 46 |
| 3 | Nairn County | 30 | 19 | 3 | 8 | 64 | 39 | +25 | 41 |

## Individual honours

| Award | Winner | Club |
| - | - | - |
| Footballer of the Year | Danny McGrain | Celtic |

## Scotland national team

| Date | Venue | Opponents | Score | Competition | Scotland scorer(s) |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 8 September | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Finland | 6–0 | Friendly | Andy Gray (2), Eddie Gray, Kenny Dalglish, Bruce Rioch, Don Masson (pen.) |
| 13 October | Sparta Stadion, Prague (A) | Czechoslovakia | 0–2 | WCQG7 | |
| 17 November | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Wales | 1–0 | WCQG7 | Own goal |
| 27 April | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Sweden | 3–1 | Friendly | Asa Hartford, Kenny Dalglish, Joe Craig |
| 28 May | The Racecourse, Wrexham (A) | Wales | 0–0 | BHC | |
| 1 June | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Northern Ireland | 3–0 | BHC | Kenny Dalglish (2), Gordon McQueen |
| 4 June | Wembley Stadium, London (A) | England | 2–1 | BHC | Gordon McQueen, Kenny Dalglish |
| 15 June | Estadio Nacional, Santiago (A) | Chile | 4–2 | Friendly | Lou Macari (2), Kenny Dalglish, Asa Hartford |
| 18 June | Boca Junior Stadium, Buenos Aires (A) | Argentina | 1–1 | Friendly | Don Masson |
| 23 June | Estadio do Maracana, Rio de Janeiro (A) | Brazil | 0–2 | Friendly | |

1977 British Home Championship - Winners

Key:

* (H) = Home match
* (A) = Away match
* WCQG7 = World Cup qualifying - Group 7
* BHC = British Home Championship
