Scottish football in 2023: The moments that made headlines this year

As 2023 comes to an end it has been another eventful 12 months in the world of Scottish football.

The biggest story of the year is the news that Scotland secured a place in next summer’s European Championships being held in Germany.

Domestically there was no shortage of big stories either with Celtic lifting a treble, both sides of the Old Firm changing managers and Rangers lifting the first piece of silverware of the 23/24 campaign.

We take a look back at some of the stories making headlines over the last year.

January: Barry Robson handed reigns at Aberdeen after Jim Goodwin sacked

Sport

Aberdeen sack Jim Goodwin after 6-0 Premiership defeat to Hibernian

The club announced the decision via Twitter minutes after the final whistle at Easter Road.

Sport

Aberdeen announce appointment of Barry Robson as permanent manager

Robson has transformed the team’s fortunes since stepping into the dugout.

March: Scotland beat Spain at Hampden to get qualification campaign of to a flyer

Sport

Scotland beat Spain to go top of Group A with famous Hampden victory

Scott McTominay scored a double to make it four goals in the opening two games for the Man Utd man.

April: Hearts sack Robbie Neilson as Steven Naismith put in charge

Sport

Hearts announce Steven Naismith as interim manager for rest of season

The former Scotland international will take the reins until the end of the season.

May: Dundee replace city rivals United in the Premiership

Sport

Dundee United’s relegation confirmed following Motherwell defeat

United will be playing in the Championship next season after finishing bottom of the league.

Sport

Dundee win title after epic eight-goal decider against Queen’s Park

Gary Bowyer’s side were 5-3 winners and sealed promotion to the Premiership.

June: Celtic complete world record domestic treble

Football

Celtic seal record eighth treble with Scottish Cup win over Inverness

Ange Postecoglou’s side completed a clean sweep of domestic trophies at Hampden.

Football

Callum McGregor: This Celtic team deserves to be Treble winners

The Celtic captain hopes Ange Postecoglou stays to deliver more success.

June: Ange Postecoglou leaves for Tottenham and Brendan Rodgers returns

Football

‘I will forever be a supporter’: Postecoglou says goodbye to Celtic

The Australian says he leaves Glasgow with many happy memories from his time in charge.

Football

Celtic appoint Brendan Rodgers as manager on three-year contract

Rodgers has returned to the club where he won back-to-back Trebles.

June: Late fight back in Oslo as Scotland beat Norway

Football

Scotland fight back to record 2-1 win over Norway in Euro qualifier

Steve Clarke’s side bounced back to continue a perfect start to Euro qualifying.

July – December: Mixed bag for Scottish clubs in Europe

Sport

Rangers knocked out of Champions League with 5-1 play-off defeat to PSV

Rangers will now drop into the Europa League after the 7-3 aggregate defeat.

Sport

Hibs out of Europe after 8-0 aggregate defeat to Aston Villa in playoff

Villa followed up their 5-0 win at Easter Road with a 3-0 second leg win on Thursday.

Sport

Champions League heartbreak for Celtic as Lazio net late winner

Pedro scored with almost the last touch of the ball to give the Italian side a 2-1 win.

Sport

Aberdeen throw away two goal lead in Conference League defeat to PAOK

The Greek side arrived at Pittodrie with two wins from two in the Conference League group.

Sport

Rangers keep up Europa League home record with win over Sparta Prague

Danilo and Todd Cantwell were on target for Rangers at Ibrox.

Sport

Aberdeen beat Eintracht Frankfurt in final Conference League game

The Dons set themselves up for Sunday’s League Cup final with a victory over the Bundesliga side.

Sport

Celtic sign off from Champions League with win over Feyenoord

Luis Palma and Guistav Lagerbielke scored in the 2-1 win at Celtic Park.

Sport

Rangers stay in Europa League with victory over Real Betis in Seville

Rangers knew they had to win in Seville to guarantee a place in the Europa League knockout stages.

September: Nick Montgomery replaces Lee Johnson in Easter Road dugout

Sport

Hibs name Central Coast Mariners boss Nick Montgomery as new manager

The Easter Road club have appointed a permanent successor to Lee Johnson.

October: Scotland qualify for Euro 2024

Sport

‘We’ll be coming’: Scotland qualify for Euro 2024 as Spain win in Oslo

Scotland were hoping for a Spain result against Norway to avoid an anxious wait.

Sport

Germany here we come: Key dates for Scotland ahead of Euro 2024

Scotland’s place at the tournament was secured in Oslo on Sunday night.

Sport

Euro 2024 draw: Scotland to face Germany, Hungary, and Switzerland

The draw has been made for the group stage of next year’s finals.

October: Michael Beale replaced by Philippe Clement at Ibrox after poor start

Sport

Rangers sack Beale with club seven points behind Celtic in league

Beale returned to Ibrox at the end of 2022 to replace former manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

Sport

Beale at Rangers: 307 days, millions spent, seven points behind Celtic, zero trophies

The former Ibrox coach spent nearly a year in the top job but couldn’t deliver success.

Sport

Rangers appoint Philippe Clement as new manager to replace Beale

The new man will be in the dugout at Ibrox when Rangers play Hibernian next Saturday.

Sport

‘Winner’ Clement ready to ‘go through walls’ to bring success to Ibrox

Clement is ready to give the underperforming squad a clean slate as he looks to bring silverware to the club.

December: Rangers win first silverware of 2023/24 season

Sport

Aberdeen vs Rangers: Who they beat on the road to the League Cup final

The sides meet at Hampden on Sunday with the first piece of silverware of the season on the line.

Sport

James Tavernier strikes to win Viaplay Cup for Rangers against Aberdeen

Rangers won the trophy after a hard-fought 1-0 victory at the national stadium.

Follow STV News on WhatsApp

Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country