1997–98 Scottish Third Division
# 1997–98 Scottish Third Division

The 1997–98 Scottish Football League Third Division was the 4th season in the format of ten teams in the fourth-tier of Scottish football since it was re-established in 1994–95. The season started on 5 August 1997 and ended on 9 May 1998. Alloa Athletic finished top and were promoted alongside runners-up Arbroath. Dumbarton finished bottom.

## Teams for 1997–98

Inverness Caledonian Thistle as champions of the previous season were directly promoted to the 1997–98 Scottish Second Division alongside runners-up Forfar Athletic. They were replaced by Dumbarton and Berwick Rangers who finished second bottom and bottom of the 1996–97 Scottish Second Division respectively.

### Overview

Relegated from Second Division to the Third Division

* Dumbarton
* Berwick Rangers

Promoted from Third Division to the Second Division

* Inverness Caledonian Thistle
* Forfar Athletic

## Stadia and locations

| Team | Location | Stadium |
| - | - | - |
| Albion Rovers | Coatbridge | Cliftonhill |
| Alloa Athletic | Alloa | Recreation Park |
| Arbroath | Arbroath | Gayfield Park |
| Berwick Rangers | Berwick-upon-Tweed | Shielfield Park |
| Cowdenbeath | Cowdenbeath | Central Park |
| Dumbarton | Dumbarton | Boghead Park |
| East Stirlingshire | Falkirk | Firs Park |
| Montrose | Montrose | Links Park |
| Queen's Park | Glasgow | Hampden Park |
| Ross County | Dingwall | Victoria Park |

## Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Alloa Athletic (C, P) | 36 | 24 | 4 | 8 | 78 | 39 | +39 | 76 | Promotion to the 1998–99 Second Division |
| 2 | Arbroath (P) | 36 | 20 | 8 | 8 | 67 | 39 | +28 | 68 | Promotion to the 1998–99 Second Division |
| 3 | Ross County | 36 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 71 | 36 | +35 | 67 | |
| 4 | East Stirlingshire | 36 | 17 | 6 | 13 | 50 | 48 | +2 | 57 | |
| 5 | Albion Rovers | 36 | 13 | 5 | 18 | 60 | 73 | −13 | 44 | |
| 6 | Berwick Rangers | 36 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 47 | 55 | −8 | 42 | |
| 7 | Queen's Park | 36 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 42 | 55 | −13 | 41 | |
| 8 | Cowdenbeath | 36 | 12 | 2 | 22 | 33 | 57 | −24 | 38 | |
| 9 | Montrose | 36 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 53 | 80 | −27 | 38 | |
| 10 | Dumbarton | 36 | 7 | 10 | 19 | 42 | 61 | −19 | 31 | |

## Statistics

### Top scorers

| Pos | Player | Club | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Colin McGlashan | Montrose | 20 |
| 2 | Willie Irvine | Alloa Athletic | 18 |
| 3 | Billy Spence | Arbroath | 16 |
| 4 | Derek Adams | Ross County | 15 |
| 5 | Willie Watters | Albion Rovers | 13 |
| 5 | Davie Watt | East Stirlingshire | 13 |
| 7 | Paul Forrester | Berwick Rangers | 10 |
| 7 | Lee Gardner | Albion Rovers | 10 |
| 7 | Brian Grant | Arbroath | 10 |
| 7 | Colin McKinnon | Dumbarton | 10 |
