Veteran Scottish football journalist Graham Spiers has described Martin O’Neill’s return to Celtic as both inevitable and inspired, suggesting the decision was born out of long-standing admiration from the Hoops’ largest shareholder Dermot Desmond. Spiers revealed that discussions around O’Neill’s potential comeback had been building for weeks, with Desmond viewing the Northern Irishman as the
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| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hearts | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 7 | 15 | 25 |
| 2 | Celtic | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 17 |
| 3 | Hibernian | 9 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 14 |
| 4 | Dundee United | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 13 |
| 5 | Rangers | 9 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 12 |
| 6 | Falkirk | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 15 | -3 | 12 |
| 7 | Motherwell | 9 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 11 |
| 8 | Kilmarnock | 9 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 14 | -2 | 10 |
| 9 | St Mirren | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 10 | -4 | 9 |
| 10 | Dundee | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 15 | -6 | 9 |
| 11 | Aberdeen | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 11 | -5 | 7 |
| 12 | Livingston | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 20 | -9 | 6 |
