SPL Month in Review: March 2008

By: Ian Rose | April 1st, 2008

Well, another month is in the books for the Scottish Premier League, and it might well have been the decisive one in both the race for the SPL title and the race for UEFA Cup qualification. Here’s a look at the overall standings, and the league table for March alone:

The * next to Gretna’s 6 points is just as a reminder that they earned 16, but lost ten because of going into administration.

So, to my mind, the big stories of the month were:

Rangers get comfortable
Going into March, Rangers had a four-point lead at the top of the table, but with Celtic’s inexcusable home draw with Dundee United, and the 1-0 Rangers win in the second Old Firm derby of the season, it’s now six points and a game in hand, so as many as nine. Celtic are now in a clear must-win position, and even with wins in both remaining derbies, they’ll need Rangers to drop more points as well. It’s not over, but the fat lady is tuning up.

Resurgence at Tynecastle
After one of the most inconsistent seasons in recent Scottish football memory, when they both beat Celtic and drew Gretna, Hearts seem to have settled down into pretty good form. They made up ground on their rivals for sixth place this month, and now stand only a point behind Falkirk for that coveted last spot in the top half. On two occasions, draws could easily have been wins for Hearts, but it’s still been a much better run for the Jambos.

Gretna finally relegated
It hasn’t been in serious question for a while, and certainly became that much more inevitable when the team went into administration, but now it’s in the books - Gretna will not be in the SPL next season. The only question now is whether the club will exist at all after this season.

Inverness is limping into the split
My beloved Caley Thistle, pride and joy of the Highlands, has been absolutely atrocious in 2008. March was, like February, a complete disaster for Caley, and only Gretna was worse this month. Not much worse at that. Like Killie earlier in the season, Inverness fans are thanking the saints for Gretna, and the free pass into another season of SPL play, because frankly, since the fantastic December that saw Craig Brewster and Marius Niculae win SPL monthly awards, we haven’t played like we belong in the top flight at all. They can at least prove themselves to be second-worst on form this Saturday, when they head to Fir Park to take on Gretna.

Hibs come back to Earth
As if Hearts fans needed another reason to be satisfied with the month of March, they saw hated crosstown rivals Hibs fall of the great form they had found in February, and fall behind in the race for the UEFA Cup. Hibs lost three of five, though they did have arguably the hardest schedule of any SPL team this month, with trips to both Celtic Park and Ibrox. Their loss to Motherwell made Europe a tough target.

Aberdeen all but out of European chase
After their great run in the UEFA Cup this season, a run that brought back distant memories of the European glory days of old, it now seems increasingly unlikely that the Dons will have a chance at a repeat performance, at least next year. Before thinking about third place, they need to survive the split, and they have only one game to do so. They need to beat Falkirk next Monday, plus hope for a Hearts loss to Killie this weekend. It’s a tall order, especially given Hearts’ form.

Then again, Killie …
Once struggling with Gretna for bottom spot, Kilmarnock managed to nick seven points from four matches in March. They have no hope of the top six, but can play spoiler and help out Aberdeen if they can add to that result and beat Hearts this weekend. A matchup that would have looked dire in the beginning of the season might now be the game of the week.

My awards picks
Manager of the Month: Walter Smith, Rangers
Player of the Month: Allan McGregor, Rangers
Young Player of the Month: Calum Elliot, Hearts