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 and Dundee were promoted from the 2011–12 First Division, replacing Dunfermline and Rangers,. Dundee took its place, while Rangers reformed within a new company structure and was granted Ranger's membership of the Scottish Football Association and admitted to the Scottish Football League Third Division.
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

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.
As a result of Rangers Football Club plc entering liquidation at the end of the season, Rangers was replaced with the term "Club 12" when the fixture list was published on 18 June 2012. The new company that bought Rangers' business and assets from the administrators hoped that Rangers' SPL membership share would be transferred to it but this was dependent on a vote by the remaining SPL clubs. Eight clubs publicly declared that they would oppose the membership transfer to Rangers' newco, 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

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.
TeamManagerCaptainKit manufacturerShirt sponsor
AberdeenAdidasTeam Recruitment
CelticNikeTennents
DundeePumaKilmac Energy
Dundee UnitedNikeCalor
Heart of MidlothianAdidasWonga.com
HibernianPumaCrabbie's
Inverness Caledonian ThistleErreàOrion Group
KilmarnockKillie 1869QTS
MotherwellPumaCash Converters
Ross CountyDiadoraStanley CRC Evans Offshore
St JohnstoneJomaGS Brown Construction
St MirrenDiadoraDiadora

Managerial changes

League table

Results

Matches 1–22

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

Matches 23–33

Teams play every other team once

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. The exact matches are determined upon the league table at the time of the split.

Top six

Bottom six

Season statistics

Top scorers

Assists

Hat-tricks

PlayerForAgainstResultDate
MotherwellInverness CT4–11 9 2012
KilmarnockHeart of Midlothian3–129 9 2012
Inverness CTDundee United4–415 12 2012
AberdeenDundee3–115 12 2012
Dundee UnitedKilmarnock3–219 1 2013
MotherwellSt Johnstone3–220 1 2013
KilmarnockHeart of Midlothian3–016 2 2013
Inverness CTMotherwell4–34 5 2013

Scoring

Monthly awards

MonthManagerPlayerYoung Player
August Derek Adams Leigh Griffiths Tony Watt
September Steve Lomas Michael Higdon Ryan Fraser
October Craig Brown Niall McGinn Ryan Fraser
November Terry Butcher Billy McKay Aaron Doran
December Neil Lennon Jamie Murphy Joe Shaughnessy
January Derek Adams Gary Hooper Adam Matthews
February Derek Adams Leigh Griffiths Stuart Armstrong
March Stuart McCall Nicky Law Josh Meekings
April John Brown Michael Higdon Henrik Ojamaa