The 1996–97 season was the 100th season of competitive football in Scotland. This season saw a playoff system introduced between the second bottom club in the Premier Division and the second-top club in Division One.

Scottish Premier Division

Champions: Rangers
Relegated: Raith Rovers

Premier Division/Division One playoff

* Hibernian 1–0 Airdrieonians * Airdrieonians 2–4 Hibernian (Hibernian win 5–2 on aggregate)

Scottish League Division One

Promoted: St. Johnstone
Relegated: Clydebank, East Fife

Scottish League Division Two

Promoted: Ayr United, Hamilton Academical
Relegated: Dumbarton, Berwick Rangers

Scottish League Division Three

Promoted: Inverness CT, Forfar Athletic

Other honours

Cup honours

Individual honours

SPFA awards

SFWA awards

Scottish clubs in Europe

Average coefficient �
3.125
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Scotland national team

Key: * (H) = Home match * (A) = Away match * WCQG4 = World Cup qualifying – Group 4

Notable events

* Rangers matched Celtic's record of nine successive top division titles. * Tommy Burns was sacked as Celtic manager after the end of the season, having won just one trophy in his three years in charge. *

Mark Hateley Mark Wayne Hateley (born 7 November 1961) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He started his career with Coventry City F.C. in the First Division of English football. A spell followed at English Second Divisi ...

briefly returned to Rangers after a year in

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to provide cover in attack during the title run-in, before moving back to England as player-manager of

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. * Kilmarnock won the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Jim Leighton James Leighton (born 24 July 1958) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Leighton started his career with Aberdeen, where he won seven domestic trophies and the 1982–83 European Cup Winners' Cup under the m ...

transferred from Hibernian to Aberdeen at the end of the season. * Former Scotland striker

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moved to America at the start of the season to play for Kansas City Wizards in the American Major League. *

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, the former England winger, retired from playing at the end of the season after winning seven league titles with Rangers since first joining them in 1989. * St Johnstone returned to the Premier Division by winning the Division One title by a 20-point margin. *

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was voted

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. *

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was voted

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after scoring 15 league goals for Celtic after joining them from

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in his native

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, but during the close season left them to join

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for £4.7million.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:1996-97 in Scottish Football Seasons in Scottish football