Sep 27, 2014; Gleneagles, Perthshire, SCT; A European fan wrapped in a Scottish saltire flag gets in position for the fourball matches on day two of the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles Resort – PGA Centenary Course. Mandatory Credit: Ian Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports
Scottish Premiere League soccer, along with the rest of European soccer, is taking a short break as countries fight for spots for the next Euro competition in 2016. For some, this will come as a much needed rest so that they can get everything back in order as they try to right the ship. For others, this break may hinder the great form they are in and could prove detrimental.
One team that could definitely use the break is Celtic. Coming into this season, Celtic has won the league title three years running, and were looking to make it a four in a row. However, things have not gone to plan so far for Celtic. Ronny Deila was looking to take over for the newly departed Neil Lennon and to continue Celtic’s winning ways. Lennon enjoyed a very successful run at Celtic, winning the Scottish Premier League three years in a row, and won the Scottish Cup twice.
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However, after the 2013-2014 season, he decided that he wanted to respectfully step down as manager and try something else. In steps Deila. Deila knew that he had a lot of pressure on him to keep the tradition of winning going that Lennon had started. However, things are not going to plan so far for Celtic.
They started off the season in normal Celtic fashion, winning away at St Johnstone 3-0, and then running over Dundee United at home 6-1. From there things have fallen apart since then. They have gone 2-2-2 over the next 6 games and sit with a record of 4-2-2, which puts them in 6th place with 14 points. Normally, 6th place wouldn’t seem so bad, but with such a big reputation to their name, 6th place is a bit of a worry for both Deila and Celtic. In their last game, they fell to first place Hamilton Academical.
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Hamilton Academical is a team that does not need a break right now. They are in red hot form after knocking off the defending champions at Celtic Park and claiming the first place spot in the league. This is something special for the club. They were just promoted to the top tier of Scottish soccer last season. Usually when teams are promoted, their next season is difficult because they are used to the lower tier, have less money than some of the higher up clubs, and have less talented players.
Yet, Hamilton doesn’t seem to have those issues as they have posted an extremely impressive record of 6-2-1 and sit on top of the league with 20 points. Hamilton have a cute stadium that holds a small amount of only around 5,300 people, and on average so far this year, they have been able to fill 40% of those seats. Even with the small stadium and team, they are making a really big splash in the league.
As for the rest of the season, there have been some surprises, and some expected news. Dundee United and Inverness Caledonian Thistle, who are two teams that usually end up in the top six, are both playing to their potential. Dundee sitting in second, one point behind Hamilton, and Inverness currently sits in third.
Kilmarnock and Motherwell seem to have switched normal positions. Kilmarnock last season ended up in the bottom half of the table, close to relegation, and Motherwell ended up in second. This season, however, Motherwell is sitting in 11th place, only in front of Ross County. Kilmarnock have played well this year to move up to fourth place. For the most part, the rest of the league has fallen into place where the general population would have thought they would be.
With Hamilton on top of the league, and Celtic falling down to sixth place, this could set the stage for a very interesting season in Scottish soccer. Celtic is usually seen as the winners of the league before it even starts due to the fact that Rangers are still not back in the top tier. However, things are not falling in place and it looks like it could be anyone’s season to win it this year. The season begins again after the international break and it is looking to be an interesting one for sure.