2003–04 Scottish Premier League
The 2003–04 Scottish Premier League was won by Celtic.
| Season | 2003–04 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 8 August 2003 – 15 May 2004 |
| Champions | Celtic 3rd Premier League title 39th Scottish title |
| Champions League | Celtic Rangers |
| UEFA Cup | Heart of Midlothian Dunfermline |
| Intertoto Cup | Hibernian |
| Top goalscorer | Henrik Larsson (30) |
| Biggest home win | Celtic 6–0 Hibernian (27 December) |
| Biggest away win | Kilmarnock 0–5 Celtic (1 November) |
| Highest attendance | 59,739 – Celtic v Dunfermline (2 May) |
| Lowest attendance | 2,677 – Livingston v Kilmarnock (7 April) |
← 2002–03 2004–05 → | |
As league champions, Celtic qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stage, with runners-up Rangers also qualifying to the third qualifying round. Third-placed Hearts qualified for the UEFA Cup, as did Dunfermline Athletic, who took the Scottish Cup place despite losing the final to Celtic.
During the season, Celtic set a Scottish record of 25 successive wins.
Partick Thistle were relegated, and First Division winners Inverness Caledonian Thistle were promoted.
Celtic's Henrik Larsson was the top scorer with 30 goals.
Teams
Promotion and relegation from 2002–03
Motherwell finished bottom of the 2002–03 Scottish Premier League but were spared relegation, as 2002–03 Scottish First Division champions Falkirk were denied promotion due to their lack of an appropriate stadium for the Scottish Premier League.
Stadia and locations
| Aberdeen | Celtic | Dundee | Dundee United |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pittodrie Stadium | Celtic Park | Dens Park | Tannadice Park |
| Capacity: 20,866 | Capacity: 60,411 | Capacity: 11,506 | Capacity: 14,223 |
 |  |  |  |
| Dunfermline Athletic |  Location of teams in 2003–04 Scottish Premier League
| Heart of Midlothian | |
| East End Park | Tynecastle Park | ||
| Capacity: 12,509 | Capacity: 17,420 | ||
 |  | ||
| Hibernian | Kilmarnock | ||
| Easter Road | Rugby Park | ||
| Capacity: 16,531 | Capacity: 17,889 | ||
 |  | ||
| Livingston | Motherwell | Partick Thistle | Rangers |
| Almondvale Stadium | Fir Park | Firhill Stadium | Ibrox Stadium |
| Capacity: 10,016 | Capacity: 13,677 | Capacity: 13,300 | Capacity: 50,817 |
 |  |  |  |
Personnel
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Date of vacancy | Manner of departure | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partick Thistle |  John Lambie | 24 May 2003 | Retired | Pre-season | Gerry Collins | 25 May 2003 |
| Livingston | Jim Leishman | 4 June 2003 | Resigned |  Márcio Máximo | 4 June 2003 | |
| Livingston | Márcio Máximo | 14 October 2003 | Resigned | 8th | David Hay | 15 October 2003 |
| Partick Thistle | Gerry Collins | 30 November 2003 | Sacked | 12th | Gerry Britton Derek Whyte (co-managers) | 30 November 2003 (interim) 23 December 2003 (permanent) |
| Hibernian | Bobby Williamson | 20 April 2003 | Signed by Plymouth Argyle | 7th |  Tony Mowbray | 24 May 2004 |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celtic (C) | 38 | 31 | 5 | 2 | 105 | 25 | +80 | 98 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Rangers | 38 | 25 | 6 | 7 | 76 | 33 | +43 | 81 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Heart of Midlothian | 38 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 56 | 40 | +16 | 68 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Dunfermline Athletic | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 45 | 52 | −7 | 53 | |
| 5 | Dundee United | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 47 | 60 | −13 | 49 | |
| 6 | Motherwell | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 42 | 49 | −7 | 46 | |
| 7 | Dundee | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 48 | 57 | −9 | 46 | |
| 8 | Hibernian | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 41 | 60 | −19 | 44 | Qualification for the UEFA Intertoto Cup second round |
| 9 | Livingston | 38 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 48 | 57 | −9 | 43 | |
| 10 | Kilmarnock | 38 | 12 | 6 | 20 | 51 | 74 | −23 | 42 | |
| 11 | Aberdeen | 38 | 9 | 7 | 22 | 39 | 63 | −24 | 34 | |
| 12 | Partick Thistle (R) | 38 | 6 | 8 | 24 | 39 | 67 | −28 | 26 | Relegation to the Scottish First Division |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
Results
Matches 1–22
During matches 1–22 each team played every other team twice (home and away).
Matches 23–33
During matches 23–33 each team played every other team once (either at home or away).
Matches 34–38
During matches 34–38 each team played every other team in their half of the table once.
Top six
| Bottom six
|
Top scorers
| Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|
 Henrik Larsson | Celtic | 30 |
| Chris Sutton | Celtic | 19 |
 Nacho Novo | Dundee | 19 |
| James Grady | Partick Thistle | 15 |
| Kris Boyd | Kilmarnock | 15 |
| Derek Riordan | Hibernian | 15 |
| Stevie Crawford | Dunfermline Athletic | 13 |
 Mark de Vries | Hearts | 13 |
| Derek Lilley | Livingston | 12 |
 Shota Arveladze | Rangers | 12 |
| David Clarkson | Motherwell | 11 |
| Alan Thompson | Celtic | 11 |
Source: SPL official website
Attendances
The average attendances for SPL clubs during the 2003/04 season are shown below:
| Team | Average |
|---|---|
| Celtic | 57,657 |
| Rangers | 48,992 |
| Hearts | 11,947 |
| Aberdeen | 10,389 |
| Hibernian | 9,137 |
| Dundee United | 7,785 |
| Dundee | 7,089 |
| Kilmarnock | 6,966 |
| Dunfermline Athletic | 6,235 |
| Motherwell | 6,225 |
| Livingston | 5,116 |
| Partick Thistle | 4,710 |
Source: SPL official website
Monthly awards
| Month | Manager | Player | Young Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| August | Alex McLeish (Rangers) | Michael Ball (Rangers) | Mikel Arteta (Rangers) |
| September | Alex McLeish (Rangers) |  Shota Arveladze (Rangers) | Zurab Khizanishvili (Rangers) |
| October |  Martin O'Neill (Celtic) | Roddy McKenzie (Livingston) |  Liam Miller (Celtic) |
| November | Martin O'Neill (Celtic) | Chris Sutton (Celtic) | Stephen Hughes (Rangers) |
| December | Steve Paterson (Aberdeen) | Craig Brewster (Dunfermline Athletic) | Craig Gordon (Hearts) |
| January | Jim Duffy (Dundee) |  Stilian Petrov (Celtic) | David Clarkson (Motherwell) |
| February | Terry Butcher (Motherwell) | Steven Pressley (Hearts) | Alexander Diamond (Aberdeen) |
| March | Ian McCall (Dundee United) | Neil Lennon (Celtic) | David Marshall (Celtic) |
| April | Jimmy Calderwood (Dunfermline Athletic) | Barry Nicholson (Dunfermline Athletic) | Derek Riordan (Hibernian) |
See also
References
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