| Season | 1978–79 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Celtic 2nd Premier Division title 31stScottish title |
| Relegated | Heart of Midlothian Motherwell |
| European Cup | Celtic |
| UEFA Cup | Dundee United Aberdeen |
| Cup Winners' Cup | Rangers |
| Matches | 180 |
| Goals | 483 (2.68 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Andy Ritchie (22) |
| Biggest home win | Aberdeen 8–0Motherwell |
| Biggest away win | Motherwell 1–5Celtic |
1979–80 → | |
The1978–79 Scottish Premier Division season was won byCeltic, three points ahead ofRangers.
Severe winter conditions meant that many games had to be rescheduled, with clubs finishing their fixture lists at different times.[1] WhenDundee United finished their season they were three points ahead of Rangers and four in front of Celtic, but bothOld Firm clubs had four games left to play.[1] Celtic subsequently clinched the championship in their final match with a 4–2 Old Firm derby victory against Rangers;[2] although Rangers still had two further matches still to play, the resulting 5-point gap could not be closed.[1]
Heart of Midlothian andMotherwell were relegated.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celtic(C) | 36 | 21 | 6 | 9 | 61 | 37 | +24 | 48 | Qualification for theEuropean Cup first round |
| 2 | Rangers | 36 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 52 | 35 | +17 | 45 | Qualification for theCup Winners' Cup first round |
| 3 | Dundee United | 36 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 56 | 37 | +19 | 44 | Qualification for theUEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Aberdeen | 36 | 13 | 14 | 9 | 59 | 36 | +23 | 40 | |
| 5 | Hibernian | 36 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 44 | 48 | −4 | 37 | |
| 6 | St Mirren | 36 | 15 | 6 | 15 | 45 | 41 | +4 | 36 | |
| 7 | Morton | 36 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 52 | 53 | −1 | 36 | |
| 8 | Partick Thistle | 36 | 13 | 8 | 15 | 42 | 39 | +3 | 34 | |
| 9 | Heart of Midlothian(R) | 36 | 8 | 7 | 21 | 39 | 71 | −32 | 23 | Relegation to the1979–80 Scottish First Division |
| 10 | Motherwell(R) | 36 | 5 | 7 | 24 | 33 | 86 | −53 | 17 |
During matches 1–18 each team plays every other team twice (home and away).
| Home \ Away | ABE | CEL | DNU | HOM | HIB | MOR | MOT | PAR | RAN | STM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | 1–1 | 0–2 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 8–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | |
| Celtic | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 2–1 | |
| Dundee United | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | |
| Heart of Midlothian | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–2 | |
| Hibernian | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | |
| Morton | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 6–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | |
| Motherwell | 1–1 | 3–4 | 0–4 | 3–2 | 0–3 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | |
| Partick Thistle | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 6–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | |
| Rangers | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
| St Mirren | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 |
During matches 19–36 each team plays every other team twice (home and away).
| Home \ Away | ABE | CEL | DNU | HOM | HIB | MOR | MOT | PAR | RAN | STM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | 4–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | |
| Celtic | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | |
| Dundee United | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | |
| Heart of Midlothian | 1–4 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | |
| Hibernian | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | |
| Morton | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | |
| Motherwell | 1–1 | 1–5 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | |
| Partick Thistle | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | |
| Rangers | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | |
| St Mirren | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 |