Early in Martin O’Neill’s first tenure as Celtic manager he had a few cherished phrases. “Rangers are the benchmark”, was his go-to in his first season, as Celtic transformed from perennial underdogs to permanent favourites. Another was, “I’m only here because the previous manager lost to Inverness”. That reference to John Barnes’ sides’ Scottish Cup
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hearts | 34 | 22 | 7 | 5 | 60 | 29 | 31 | 73 |
| 2 | Celtic | 34 | 22 | 4 | 8 | 62 | 36 | 26 | 70 |
| 3 | Rangers | 34 | 19 | 12 | 3 | 68 | 34 | 34 | 69 |
| 4 | Motherwell | 34 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 55 | 31 | 24 | 57 |
| 5 | Hibernian | 34 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 52 | 39 | 13 | 51 |
| 6 | Falkirk | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 46 | 51 | -5 | 46 |
| 7 | Dundee United | 34 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 48 | 54 | -6 | 43 |
| 8 | Aberdeen | 34 | 10 | 6 | 18 | 34 | 48 | -14 | 36 |
| 9 | Dundee | 34 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 34 | 56 | -22 | 33 |
| 10 | St Mirren | 34 | 7 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 50 | -23 | 30 |
| 11 | Kilmarnock | 34 | 6 | 10 | 18 | 37 | 66 | -29 | 28 |
| 12 | Livingston | 34 | 2 | 13 | 19 | 37 | 66 | -29 | 19 |
