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5 things we learned from this weekend's Scottish Premiership action

Rangers beat champions Celtic 2-0 while Dundee parted company with boss Jim McIntyre.

Rangers beat Ladbrokes Premiership champions Celtic 2-0 at Ibrox in the penultimate round of fixtures this season.

Here, Press Association Sport looks at five things we learned from the weekend's football.

Celtic defeat does Neil Lennon no favours

Celtic travelled to Ibrox as champions but were strangely subdued against city rivals Rangers.

Although the defeat makes no difference to the league position, it may have harmed interim boss Neil Lennon's chances of getting the job on a permanent basis.

The Northern Irishman took over until the end of the season in February when Brendan Rodgers left suddenly for Leicester.

The Ibrox loss was his first since returning toΒ  dugout but the manner of the defeat will have done little to convince the Parkhead board that he should be manager for the second time, while many fans are already against the idea.

Rangers closing the gap on Celtic?

Celtic's dominance of Scottish football was confirmed last week when their 3-0 win at Aberdeen saw them crowned champions for the eighth successive time.

The Hoops have the chance to clinch an unprecedented domestic triple treble when they take on Hearts in the William Hill Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park on May 25.

However, Rangers have won both Old Firm games at Ibrox this season and both of them with a degree of comfort.

They ended the afternoon six points behind their bitter rivals after goals from James Tavernier and Scott Arfield and with growing belief that next season will see a proper title challenge

Hero to villain

Motherwell forward Jake Hastie, left, has signed a pre-contract with Rangers
Motherwell forward Jake Hastie, left, has signed a pre-contract with Rangers (Jane Barlow/PA)

Jake Hastie had become a hero to the Motherwell fans for his displays in the second half of the season.

However, the attacker recently signed a pre-contract with Rangers and that did not go down well with some of the Fir Park fans.

Hastie was targeted by some Motherwell supporters as he warmed up at St Johnstone on Saturday and he was booed when made a second-half appearance as replacement for Gboly Ariyibi, as the Steelmen lost 2-0.

Manager pays the price again

Jim McIntyre took over at Dundee from Neil McCann last October after a poor start to the season by the Taysiders.

However, he failed to turn it around and the Dens Park side were relegated to the Championship last week.

Dundee beat Livingston 1-0 on Saturday to end a winless run of 10 games but 24 hours later McIntyre had departed the club.

Paul Heckingbottom will not hide his feelings

Hibernian manager Paul Heckingbottom
Hibernian boss Paul Heckingbottom is not afraid to speak his mind (Jane Barlow/PA)

The Hibernian head coach came under scrutiny for recent comments about a fourth official but showed he was not afraid to speak his mind after a 1-0 defeat at Kilmarnock.

Heckingbottom called Killie defender Alex Bruce a diver on his way into the Rugby Park media room after losing out to a soft penalty.

Heckingbottom emphatically repeated the accusation in front of watching reporters when asked if he was being serious about Bruce, his former Sheffield Wednesday team-mate.

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Neil Lennon celebrates Celtic's title win on May 4, 2019
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
Championship Group
1Celtic000080265478
2RangersRangers000072234975
3Hearts000046341262
4Kilmarnock00004334951
5St Mirren00003843-543
6Dundee00004454-1041
Relegation Group
1Hibernian00004451-739
2Motherwell00004651-537
3Aberdeen00003549-1435
4St Johnstone00002446-2231
5Ross County00003256-2430
6Livingston00002259-3718
 
First Phase
1Celtic33246380265478
2RangersRangers33243672234975
3Hearts33195946341262
4Kilmarnock33131284334951
5St Mirren33127143843-543
6Dundee331011124454-1041
7Hibernian33912124451-739
8Motherwell33813124651-537
9Aberdeen33811143549-1435
10St Johnstone33710162446-2231
11Ross County3379173256-2430
12Livingston3339212259-3718


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