Scottish Premiership: What did we learn from the weekend games?
- Published
Thommo's Scottish Premiership Team of the Week
It was the weekend where it got tighter at the bottom and even more intriguing at the top.
Hearts' shock win over Rangers provided the latest plot twist to this season's title race, but it also hauled the Edinburgh side right back into the hunt for top-flight survival.
What does it mean at both ends of the table, and what about everything in between? Let's take a look...
Defensive reinforcements required
Celtic have bolstered their attack this month with new signing Patryk Klimala and their midfield will be reinforced by the imminent arrival of Ismaila Soro, but are quality additions in defence required?
Their makeshift backline was exposed several times by Ross County's ploy of launching long passes in the channel between centre-half and full-back. Only the Highlanders' first-half profligacy let Celtic off the hook.
Of Saturday's back four, Jozo Simunovic continues to look a shadow of his former self at centre-back, an area where Celtic are reliant on first-choice pair Christopher Jullien and Kristoffer Ajer.
Moritz Bauer has struggled for a regular run at right-back, while on the opposite flank, Jonny Hayes is a natural winger playing further back.
Highlights: Celtic 3-0 Ross County
Misfiring Rangers short up front?
Rangers manager Steven Gerrard may be rethinking his recent suggestion that he is unlikely to add to his squad during the January transfer window.
With Alfredo Morelos suspended and no other recognised striker in his first-team squad, Gerrard had to play Jermain Defoe for two full 90 minutes within four days.
The former England striker came up trumps with Wednesday's winner against St Mirren, but Gerrard had nowhere to turn when his former international team-mate's 37-year-old legs failed to muster another as Rangers slumped to defeat away to bottom side Hearts.
Rangers have failed to sparkle in the Scottish Cup against Stranraer and two league games after the Premiership's winter break, and Gerrard has work to do if their title challenge is not to fade in the second half of the season for a second year running.
Goals drying up for Motherwell
Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson commented after the goalless draw with Hibernian that all they needed was a 20-goal-a-season striker and they would have won.
He added that a club with their resources are simply unable to afford that - but it is a fact that goals have dried up for the Lanarkshire side.
They have scored six goals in their last seven games - less than the seven they managed in the two games before that run. They have maintained a strong defence - shown through six clean sheets in their last nine.
However, if they hope to maintain that crucial third place from an Aberdeen side buoyed by the arrival of the "speed and creativity" Derek McInnes was searching for in St Johnstone winger Matty Kennedy, then the goals need to come from somewhere.
Highlights: Motherwell 0-0 Hibernian
New signings fail to add spark
The January transfer window has been kind to Aberdeen manager McInnes so far - being able to add midfielder Dylan McGeouch, then bringing in winger Kennedy from St Johnstone. In total McInnes has signed 11 players this season, and in the wake of Sunday's 0-0 draw with St Mirren he revealed he is on the hunt for "one or two more" before the end of the transfer window.
However, his team's fortunes have not improved. No goals from open play in 2020. Five points picked up from the last 15, nine from the previous 24. Motherwell have surged four points clear of them in the race for third place and Hibernian and Livingston are ominously lurking behind.
Last season Aberdeen finished fourth, but sneaked into Europe virtue of Celtic's Scottish Cup win. A repeat with no progress and no silverware will leave fans who booed the team off in Paisley even more exasperated.
The next game brings a trip to Ibrox, where Aberdeen won twice last season but have lost 7-0 on aggregate on their last two visits. If ever there was a big performance to get the fans back onside, this is it.
Europe an ambition too far?
These are heady times for Livingston. With six teams bunching around the bottom of the table, it would be hard to see a scenario where Gary Holt's side would be dragged into the relegation battle now.
Sitting in fifth after a fourth consecutive win and their first in 10 away from home, they must surely now be looking at narrowing the six-point gap with Aberdeen.
Clawing back the 10-point deficit between themselves and Motherwell is likely to be a step too far, but qualifying for Europe for the first time in 17 years is tantalisingly close should they overtake Aberdeen and one of the top three win the Scottish Cup.
Highlights: Hamilton Academical 2-4 Livingston
Hibernian's slow ascent continues
It was not too long ago both Edinburgh sides were languishing around the relegation zone. At the end of October, Hibernian were just a point clear of Hearts and St Mirren who were bottom.
Now, there is a comfortable cushion between Hibs and the teams making up the bottom half of the table.
Jack Ross has instilled a mentality in the side that has been non-existent since before Neil Lennon departed - and it was evident at Motherwell as they frustrated the Lanarkshire side to very few clear-cut chances.
The head coach spoke post-match about wanting to add a defender and a striker in January. With the progress he has already made it is not hard to envisage the Edinburgh side ending the season with a squad capable of challenging for a European spot next year.
Dyer needs results fast to maintain confidence
The defeat by St Johnstone marked a fifth straight league loss for Alex Dyer since taking charge of Kilmarnock as their worrying slide continued. The former assistant to Steve Clarke and Angelo Alessio has made zero impact on results, and his team are now nine games without a win in the Premiership.
Whether it's further January signings or more time on the training field drilling the players to embed his style of play, something needs to change fast for Dyer if his good relationship with the fans is to continue. They face Ross County and Hearts in their next two matches and it feels as though he must win at least one of those to retain the confidence that he can halt the slide before they enter relegation territory.
Trail by Sportscene: 'Tommy Wright has every right to be raging'
Saints have life despite Wright's transfer woes
Before the win against Kilmarnock, Tommy Wright was speaking of his concern at their lack of transfer activity. The early departure of Kennedy to Aberdeen was a further blow in that regard, though it may free up funds for investment in this window.
Nevertheless, Saturday's victory means St Johnstone have lost just one of their last seven league games, and they seem to have recovered their confidence, particularly in defence, after a very shaky start to the season. They're still short of goals but then, so are several other sides in the bottom half of the table.
County have template for Ibrox trip
Ross County have now gone five Premiership matches without a win, while failing to score in the last two, but the Dingwall side left Celtic Park with plenty of positives.
For a start, the 3-0 defeat wasn't half as bad as the 6-0 scudding they suffered on their last visit to the champions. The Highlanders defended impressively, broke forward at pace and should have at least gone in level at half-time, scorning a handful of chances before succumbing to a penalty.
They were still in the game until Odsonne Edouard's devastating impact off the bench, and co-managers Steven Ferguson and Stuart Kettlewell should stick with the game-plan for Wednesday night's trip to Ibrox.
Obika miss could prove crucial
St Mirren had already recorded a home win over Aberdeen this season, and they will be kicking themselves at not repeating the feat in Sunday's goalless draw.
Defensively, St Mirren did everything right, save for an unpunished error from goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky that handed Niall McGinn a golden opportunity.
At the other end, Jon Obika found himself one-on-one with Aberdeen shot stopper Joe Lewis but cracked his effort off the post. It was a big moment - three points would have put four between them and second-bottom Hamilton. It would also have been just a 12th home goal this season from St Mirren.
"When you take a point from the Old Firm or Aberdeen it's a positive, but I don't remember my goalkeeper being tested too much," manager Jim Goodwin told BBC Scotland. "I'm frustrated in that we didn't create enough clear-cut opportunities."
Case for Accies adding to defence
Hamilton head coach Brian Rice has had a tough week. Days after admitting to breaking Scottish FA betting rules, the odds on his side being relegated have shortened significantly after a heavy home defeat by Livingston and Hearts' win over Rangers, which together mean Accies are only one point above bottom place.
Centre-half Sam Woods scored on his debut on loan from Crystal Palace, but the concession of four goals underlined Rice's belief that he is still short of options in defence through a series of injuries and it would be no surprise if he adds to his squad further before the transfer window closes.
Tide turning at Tynecastle?
What a difference 25 minutes and a crucial signing can make in football. Hearts looked to be ending the weekend still four points adrift of Hamilton at the foot of the table when Ryan Kent opened the scoring for Rangers at Tynecastle, but within 10 minutes debutant Liam Boyce had set up the equaliser for Steven Naismith and, with just seven minutes left, sent Tynecastle into raptures with the winner.
Toby Sibbick, who played under manager Daniel Stendel at Barnsley, also enjoyed a key role in subduing Rangers' creativity on his debut on loan, with the 20-year-old natural right-back being used in a midfield holding role.
A first league win under the German is a small step on its own, but added to two league draws and Scottish Cup win, that is four games without loss and suddenly the Edinburgh side are within six points of seventh-top Kilmarnock. You could see the tide turning as Tynecastle erupted to acclaim a potentially vital win.
Highlights: Heart of Midlothian 2-1 Rangers