2002–03 Scottish Premier League

Bank of Scotland Premierleague
Season 2002–03
Champions Rangers
Relegated No relegation
Champions League Rangers
Celtic
UEFA Cup Hearts
Dundee
Top goalscorer Henrik Larsson (28)
Biggest away win Dunfermline 0–6 Rangers (1 September)
Highest attendance 59,027 - Celtic v Rangers (6 October)
Lowest attendance 3,541 - Partick Thistle v Livingston (28 January)

The 2002–03 Scottish Premier League was won by Rangers.

As league champions, Rangers qualified for the UEFA Champions League, with runners-up Celtic also qualifying. Third-placed Hearts qualified for the UEFA Cup, as did Dundee, who took the Scottish Cup place despite losing the final against Rangers, who were also League Cup winners.

Motherwell were spared relegation, as Scottish First Division winners Falkirk's presentation of a groundshare proposal at Airdrie United's Excelsior Stadium was voted down at a meeting of all the SPL's member clubs.

Henrik Larsson was the top scorer with 28 goals for Celtic.

Contents

Promotion and relegation from 2001–02

Promoted from First Division to Premier League

Relegated from Premier League to First Division

Table

P Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Rangers 38 31 4 3 101 28 +73 97 2003–04 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round
2 Celtic 38 31 4 3 98 26 +72 97 2003–04 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round
3 Hearts 38 18 9 11 57 51 +6 63 2003–04 UEFA Cup First round
4 Kilmarnock 38 16 9 13 47 56 –9 57
5 Dunfermline Athletic 38 13 7 18 54 71 –17 46
6 Dundee 38 10 14 14 50 60 –10 44 2003–04 UEFA Cup First round
7 Hibernian 38 15 6 17 56 64 –8 51
8 Aberdeen 38 13 10 15 41 54 –13 49
9 Livingston 38 9 8 21 48 62 –14 35
10 Partick Thistle 38 8 11 19 37 58 –21 35
11 Dundee United 38 7 11 20 35 68 –33 32
12 Motherwell 38 7 7 24 45 71 –26 28

Source: SPL official website

Top scorers

Player Club Goals
Henrik Larsson Celtic 28
Stevie Crawford Dunfermline Athletic 19
John Hartson Celtic 18
Ronald de Boer Rangers 16
Alex Burns Partick Thistle 16
Barry Ferguson Rangers 16
Chris Sutton Celtic 15
Shota Arveladze Rangers 15
Mark de Vries Hearts 15
Michael Mols Rangers 13
James McFadden Motherwell 13

Source: SPL official website

Attendances

The average attendances for SPL clubs during the 2002/03 season are shown below:

Team Average
Celtic 57,471
Rangers 48,814
Hearts 12,057
Aberdeen 11,774
Hibernian 10,157
Dundee United 7,665
Kilmarnock 7,407
Dundee 7,399
Livingston 6,663
Dunfermline Athletic 6,124
Motherwell 6,085
Partick Thistle 5,657

Source: SPL official website

Monthly awards

Month Manager Player Young Player
August John Lambie (Partick Thistle) Mark de Vries (Hearts) Kris Boyd (Kilmarnock)
September Alex McLeish (Rangers) Jean-Louis Valois (Hearts) Mikel Arteta (Rangers)
October Bobby Williamson (Hibernian) Fernando Ricksen (Rangers) Ian Murray (Hibernian)
November Martin O'Neill (Celtic) Henrik Larsson (Celtic) Mark Wilson (Dundee United)
December Jim Jeffries (Kilmarnock) John Hartson (Celtic) Shaun Dillon (Kilmarnock)
January Jim Duffy (Dundee) Barry Ferguson (Rangers) Kris Boyd (Kilmarnock)
February Alex McLeish (Rangers) Lee Wilkie (Dundee) Shaun Maloney (Celtic)
March Jim Duffy (Dundee) Thomas McManus (Hibernian) Zurab Khizanishvili (Dundee)
April Craig Levein (Hearts) Bobo Baldé (Celtic) Andy Webster (Hearts)