It was a carnival atmosphere outside Celtic Park today (Jun 17) as Tony Mowbray was officially unveiled as the Hoops’ new manager.
Fixture Computer Comes Up With Celtic Versus Aberdeen First
As Mowbray was shown to the world’s press, the Scottish Premier League fixture computer was busy churning out the fixtures for the forthcoming season.
Celtic’s new manager may be ‘looking forward to the challenge’ but his first fixture is no easy game, he will be up against Aberdeen in the Granite city on August 15 2009.
Aberdeen Have A New Boss Too - Mark McGhee
The Dons as they are more commonly known, have too a new manager, Mark McGhee.
McGhee quit as Motherwell boss had been in the running for the Celtic job before he was appointed as the new Aberdeen boss.
Reigning Champions Rangers Play Falkirk First
Reigning champions will kick off their campaign at Ibrox with a home match to Falkirk who will also have a new manager by the time the new season springs into life.
The former Falkirk manager John Hughes, now Hibernian boss will play St. Mirren at Easter Road.
Newly promoted St Johnstone open their campaign at home to Motherwell, while Dundee United host Hearts, and Hamilton Academical play Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.
First Old Firm Derby Scheduled For October 3 2009
The first Old Firm derby between Celtic and Rangers is in the diary for October 3, this will be staged at Ibrox while the return fixture is on 2 January 2010 and this will be at Celtic Park.
The opening weekend has sprung up a host of intriguing matches but the paying public may already know what kind of fare they are going to get as Celtic and Mowbray will have already played European fixtures. With Celtic finishing in the runner-up spot, it means that they have to play in the qualification rounds to try and qualify for the group stages of the Champions League, whereas city rivals Rangers, by winning the title go straight into the group stages of the Champions League.
The League Splits
As is now tradition, the league will split into two after the matches on Saturday 10/Sunday 11 April 2010. The top six teams play each other once and the bottom six teams in the Scottish Premier League will also play each other one more time.
The league split is meant to increase the excitement for both the fans and the media in both the race for top six places and the fight for survival from relegation.
