1996–97 Heart of Midlothian F.C. season
# 1996–97 Heart of Midlothian F.C. season

The 1996–97 season was Heart of Midlothian F.C.'s 14th consecutive season of play in the Scottish Premier Division. Hearts also competed in the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup.

## Scottish Premier Division table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 | Celtic | 36 | 23 | 6 | 7 | 78 | 32 | +46 | 75 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first qualifying round |
| 3 | Dundee United | 36 | 17 | 9 | 10 | 46 | 33 | +13 | 60 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first qualifying round |
| 4 | Heart of Midlothian | 36 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 46 | 43 | +3 | 52 | |
| 5 | Dunfermline Athletic | 36 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 52 | 65 | −13 | 45 | |
| 6 | Aberdeen | 36 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 45 | 54 | −9 | 44 | |

* ↑ As the League Cup winners Rangers had qualified for European competition via their league position, the place in the UEFA Cup was passed to the next highest placed team in the league, Dundee United.

## Stats

### Scorers

| Pos | PLayer | SPL | SC | LC | CWC | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| FW | John Robertson | 14 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
| MF | Colin Cameron | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 11 |
| DF | David Weir | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| FW | Jim Hamilton | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| MF | Neil McCann | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| DF | Paul Ritchie | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| FW | Stephane Paille | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| MF | Steve Fulton | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| DF | Dave McPherson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| FW | Darren Beckford | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| MF | Gary Mackay | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| DF | Neil Pointon | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
