Season review 2006/07

Joy for Celtic in the ninth and final season of the Bank of Scotland's highly successful partnership with the SPL.

Gordon Strachan's men finished 12 points clear of Rangers as they won the championship for the second year in a row and the fifth time in the last seven seasons.

The destiny of the trophy was rarely in doubt. After losing at Tynecastle in early August, the Hoops went on a terrific unbeaten run of 27 SPL matches until they lost 1-0 to Rangers in mid-March.

That merely delayed their coronation and Shunsuke Nakamura's last-minute free-kick at Kilmarnock on April 22 sparked a title party.

Celtic also impressed in the Champions League, defeating Manchester United and Benfica to qualify for the knock-out stages for the first time. There, they came up against eventual winners AC Milan and took them to extra time in the San Siro before losing to a single goal.

It was a disappointing campaign for city rivals Rangers, who again finished without a trophy. Paul Le Guen's arrival in the summer promised much but a series of poor results ultimately led to the Frenchman's departure.

He was replaced by Scotland manager Walter Smith, who steadied the ship and led the club on a long unbeaten league run that ended only in the closing weeks. In the UEFA Cup, Rangers reached the last 16 where they lost out to Osasuna.

Aberdeen enjoyed a successful season under Jimmy Calderwood to take third place and thus qualify for next term's UEFA Cup. That issue was unresolved until the final day when victory over Rangers earned the Dons a return to the European arena.

Hearts failed to survive the Champions League qualifiers and had to settle for fourth place in the SPL, with a lack of goals their main problem, although the average was down across the league. Crowds continued to be buoyant, with almost 3.7m spectators passing through the turnstiles.

Kilmarnock's achievement in finishing fifth for the second year running was a credit to Jim Jefferies and his players, notably Steven Naismith who weighed in with 15 goals, just five fewer than the SPL's top marksman Kris Boyd.

It was an exciting year for sixth-placed Hibernian, who won the CIS Cup with a thumping 5-1 victory over Kilmarnock under the charge of John Collins. He had replaced West Brom-bound Tony Mowbray in the autumn and was not the only managerial change during 2006/07.

Valdas Ivanauskas left Hearts where Anatoly Korobochka ended the season as head coach. Craig Levein succeeded Craig Brewster at Dundee United and steered them away from the relegation zone while Stephen Kenny arrived from Derry City to replace Jim Leishman at Dunfermline.

It was a tough introduction to the SPL for the Irishman and the Pars set a new and unwanted record of nine games without a goal. An amazing April almost saved them but defeat at Inverness condemned the club to Division One. St Mirren finished with three wins after the split and Motherwell hung on despite a bad run.

The Pars will be replaced by Gretna, who will become the 17th different club to grace the SPL in August.

Falkirk, boosted by the loan signing of Anthony Stokes, could be well pleased with their work as they finished an impressive seventh in the table. Inverness were a place below them after another solid campaign which included home and away wins over Rangers.

A notable landmark was reached during the season, with the 5000th SPL goal scored by Motherwell's Scott McDonald in the 4-2 home win over Falkirk on November 25.

The Aussie striker will start next season at Celtic, who have also snapped up Scott Brown from Hibernian. Other SPL players changing clubs this close season include defender Kirk Broadfoot (St Mirren to Rangers) and forward Alan Gow (Falkirk to Rangers).

The Tennent's Scottish Cup was won by Celtic thanks to a late goal from Jean-Joel Perrier-Doumbe in the final against Dunfermline.

Awards:
Bank of Scotland Premierleague Champions: Celtic
Tennent's Scottish Cup Winners: Celtic
CIS Insurance Cup Winners: Hibernian
SPFA Player of the Year: Shunsuke Nakamura (Celtic)
SPFA Young Player of Year: Steven Naismith (Kilmarnock)
SFWA Player of the Year: Shunsuke Nakamura (Celtic)
SFWA Young Player of Year: Scott Brown (Hibernian)

Qualification for Europe:
Celtic
Rangers
Aberdeen
Dunfermline