The 2015–16 Scottish Premiership (known as the Ladbrokes Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the third season of the Scottish Premiership, the highest division of Scottish football. The season began on 1 August 2015. Celtic were the defending champions.
Twelve teams contested the league: Aberdeen, Celtic, Dundee, Dundee United, Hamilton Academical, Heart of Midlothian, Inverness CT, Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Partick Thistle, Ross County and St Johnstone.
Teams
Promoted from Scottish Championship Heart of Midlothian
Relegated from Scottish Premiership St Mirren
Stadia and locations Aberdeen Celtic Dundee Dundee United Pittodrie Stadium Celtic Park Dens Park Tannadice Park Capacity: 20,897 Capacity: 60,355 Capacity: 11,506 Capacity: 14,229 Hamilton Academical Heart of Midlothian New Douglas Park Tynecastle Stadium Capacity: 6,078 Capacity: 17,529 Inverness Caledonian Thistle Kilmarnock Caledonian Stadium Rugby Park Capacity: 7,800 Capacity: 18,128 Motherwell Partick Thistle Ross County St Johnstone Fir Park Firhill Stadium Victoria Park McDiarmid Park Capacity: 13,677 Capacity: 10,102 Capacity: 6,541 Capacity: 10,696
Personnel and kits
Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsorAberdeen Adidas Saltire EnergyCeltic New Balance MagnersDundee Puma Kilmac EnergyDundee United Gordon Young (interim) Nike CalorHamilton Academical Adidas Nevis (H), Scotia Aid (A)Heart of Midlothian Puma Save the ChildrenInverness CT Carbrini SubwayKilmarnock Erreà QTSMotherwell Macron Cash ConvertersPartick Thistle Joma Kingsford Capital ManagementRoss County Carbrini Stanley CRC Evans OffshoreSt Johnstone Joma Invest in Perth
Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment Motherwell Sacked 23 September 2015 10th 13 October 2015 Dundee United 26 September 2015 11th 14 October 2015 Kilmarnock Resigned 30 January 2016 Lee McCulloch (interim) 30 January 2016 Lee McCulloch End of interim 15 February 2016 10th Lee Clark15 February 2016 Dundee United Sacked 4 May 2016 12th Gordon Young (interim) 4 May 2016
Tournament format and regulations
Basic In the initial phase of the season, the 12 teams will play a round-robin tournament whereby each team plays each one of the other teams three times. After 33 games, the league splits into two sections of six teams, with each team playing each other in that section. The league attempts to balance the fixture list so that teams in the same section play each other twice at home and twice away, but sometimes this is impossible. A total of 228 matches will be played, with 38 matches played by each team.
Promotion and relegation Heart of Midlothian were promoted as 2014–15 Scottish Championship winners. On 2 May, bottom club Dundee United were defeated 2–1 away to their city rivals Dundee, a defeat which confined them to relegation of the Championship. Craig Wighton, a local Dundee fan, scored the winning goal in the 92nd minute of the game. The champion of that league will be promoted to the Premiership for the 2016–17 season. The team that finishes 11th in the Premiership will play the winner of the Championship playoffs (teams that finish 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the Championship) in two playoff games, with the winner securing a Premiership spot for the 2016–17 season.
League table
Results
Matches 1–22 Teams play each other twice, once at home and once away.
Matches 23–33 Teams play every other team once (either at home or away).
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 (either at home or away). The exact matches are determined upon the league table at the time of the split.
Top six
Bottom six
Top scorers
RankPlayerClubGoals1 Leigh GriffithsCeltic312 Kane HemmingsDundee213 Adam RooneyAberdeen204 Louis Moult Motherwell15 Liam BoyceRoss County6 Kris DoolanPartick Thistle14 Steven MacLeanSt Johnstone8 Billy MckayDundee United12 Juanma Hearts10 Miles StoreyInverness CT11
Awards MonthManager of the MonthPlayer of the MonthRef.ManagerClubPlayerClubAugust Derek McInnesAberdeen Leigh GriffithsCeltic September Derek McInnesAberdeen Niall McGinnAberdeenOctober Ronny DeilaCeltic Leigh GriffithsCelticNovember Alan ArchibaldPartick Thistle Michael O'HalloranSt JohnstoneDecember Mark McGheeMotherwell Liam BoyceRoss CountyJanuary Ronny DeilaCeltic Kane HemmingsDundeeFebruary Mixu PaatelainenDundee United Paul PatonDundee UnitedMarch Mark McGheeMotherwell Jackson IrvineRoss CountyApril John HughesInverness CT Patrick RobertsCeltic Annual awards Award Winner Club Ladbrokes Premiership Player of the Year Leigh Griffiths Celtic PFA Scotland Premiership Player of the Year Leigh Griffiths Celtic PFA Scotland SPFL Young Player of the Year Kieran Tierney Celtic PFA Scotland SPFL Manager of the Year Mark Warburton Rangers PFA Scotland Goal of the Season Barrie McKay Rangers SFWA Player of the Year Leigh Griffiths Celtic PFA Scotland Team of the Year Goalkeeper Scott Bain(Dundee) Defenders Shay Logan(Aberdeen) Alim Öztürk(Heart of Midlothian) Andrew Davies(Ross County) Kieran Tierney(Celtic) Midfielders Jonny Hayes(Aberdeen) Kenny McLean(Aberdeen) Graeme Shinnie(Aberdeen) Forwards Kane Hemmings(Dundee) Leigh Griffiths(Celtic) Greg Stewart(Dundee)
Premiership play-offs The quarter-finals were contested between the 3rd and 4th placed teams in the Scottish Championship; Hibernian and Raith Rovers. Hibernian, the winners, advanced to the semi-finals to face the 2nd placed team in the Championship; Falkirk. Falkirk, the winners, advanced to the final to play-off against the 11th placed team in the Premiership, Kilmarnock, with the winners securing a place in the 2016–17 Scottish Premiership.
Quarter-final First leg
Second leg
Semi-final
First leg
Second leg
Final
First leg
Second leg
Attendances Celtic FC drew the highest average home attendance in the 2015–16 edition of the Scottish Premiership.
See also Nine in a row
References
External links Official website