Winter reports cards: How Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Hibs and rest of Premiership clubs are faring

Celtic – 1st place

The New Year derby win over closest title rivals Rangers has completely changed the narrative at Celtic Park. A club that was veering towards a crisis under Brendan Rodgers is now sitting pretty, eight points clear at the top of the Premiership. Furthermore, key players such as midfielder Reo Hatate and forward Liel Abada are back to full fitness and striker Kyogo Furuhashi will not miss matches when the league resumes after Japan snubbed him for the Asian Cup. Celtic therefore will come back from the break in a very strong position. A rejuvenated Rangers under their new manager Philippe Clement has breathed new life into the title race and Rodgers knows that the defending champions will need to be at their best to repel their challenge. Celtic often have a strong second half to seasons and Rodgers has already reiterated his desire to strengthen over the window. All areas of the pitch could be reinforced this month. However, there are also likely to be outgoings, with Rodgers repeatedly stressing that the squad is bloated. Celtic have more than 35 senior players on their books and a few are set for the exit door in January.

Rangers – 2nd place

Losing to Celtic last weekend should not deflect from the fact that Rangers have improved massively since Clement took over from Michael Beale in October. Only one defeat across three competitions in 17 matches is testament to that. They topped their Europa League group, posted an impressive away victory at Real Betis, won the Viaplay Cup after beating Aberdeen and have made sure Celtic are in a proper scrap for the title. Should Rangers win their two games in hand over leaders Celtic, the gap between the two will be two points. Clement’s impact has been extolled by the players, who have responded emphatically to his approach. The key now for the 49-year-old Belgian is to elevate the team to the next level, as that will likely be required to overhaul Celtic. Striker Fabio Silva has already arrived on loan from Wolves and Rangers are expected to add more signings as the window goes on. Attack continues to be an area of concern, with summer signings Cyriel Dessers, Danilo and Sam Lammers not having the necessary impact. Rangers will also hope that their injury list eases. Clement has clearly been irked by the stamina and fitness issues within his squad and players such as Borna Barisic, Nicolas Raskin and Tom Lawrence should be back soon to assist Rangers’ cause.

Hearts – 3rd place

Not so long ago, some Hearts supporters were calling for head coach Steven Naismith’s head, but the Jambos go into the break sitting five points clear in third place. Last month’s 2-1 defeat by Aberdeen, when Naismith questioned his team’s character, appears to have been a turning point: they have not lost since. Furthermore, their usual travel sickness has been overcome. Hearts have triumphed seven times on the road this season, including at Celtic Park and Easter Road. Lawrence Shankland has been instrumental to Hearts’ strong season. The 28-year-old forward has scored 18 times and is in the form of this career. His exploits have naturally brought interest from other clubs, but with 18 months left on his current contract, the Jambos will only cash in if a massive offer comes in. Shankland is Hearts’ main source of goals and attacking inspiration and his value to the team is huge. Naismith will add a right-back to his squad this month but is planning for a pretty quiet January. There is hope that Craig Gordon, Craig Halkett and Beni Baningime will sign the new deals offered to them. The biggest desire, though, is not to repeat last season’s collapse when holding third place in January, which cost Robbie Neilson his job as manager and group-stage European football. Keep Shankland and they will be odds-on favourites to end up best of the rest.

Kilmarnock – 4th place

Derek McInnes will be very satisfied with how his Kilmarnock team have performed this season. They have 31 points, are in contention for the European places and have given both halves of the Old Firm a bloody nose at Rugby Park. There is a hard spine in this Killie team and they are hard to beat. In Dan Armstrong, they have one of the league’s best wingers and are reaping the benefits of teenage midfielder David Watson’s emergence. His late December winner at Pittodrie and recent performance at Ibrox underlined his growing potential. The goal for Killie now will be to maintain their current form, especially with teams around them holding games in hand. There is not expected to be a huge turnover of players within McInnes’ squad and finishing in the top six now looks a very reasonable expectation for them.

St Mirren – 5th place

St Mirren’s recent form – two wins in nine matches – has resulted in them slipping away from third place after an incredible start to the season. However, their manager Stephen Robinson will not be panicking, given the grounded nature of the Northern Irishman. Working with a tight budget and small squad, replicating last season’s top-six finish now must be the goal for the Buddies, who will no doubt regroup during the break. Injury to right wing-back Ryan Strain, one of their best players this season, has not helped matters, nor does Keanu Baccus’ involvement in the Asian Cup with Australia when the season resumes. Midfielder Mark O’Hara’s early-season form has dipped a little but there were positive signs when winning 3-0 at Aberdeen just before the pause. If St Mirren can rediscover the swagger they had at the start of the campaign, they could be in the mix for Europe when the league splits in April.

Hibs – 6th place

The break clearly comes at a good time for Hibs, whose squad looked very threadbare when drawing 2-2 with Motherwell. A slew of injuries and international call-ups resulted in Nick Montgomery’s team limping over the line and a trip to Dubai next week is expected to refresh them. Once level pegging in the race for third place, recent defeats by St Johnstone and Hearts derailed them and they are 11 points behind their capital rivals. Montgomery’s arrival in September, replacing the sacked Lee Johnson, has brought about improvement in the team and their style of play, but the Yorkshireman desperately needs some of his own players. Central defence remains a key issue and Montgomery hopes to bring in four players during the window, although there is not a great deal of money to spend. Finding a steadier partner alongside Will Fish will help stop the haemorrhaging of cheap goals. Iron out their erratic nature and Hibs could go on a run to challenge Hearts, given the attacking riches in their ranks. The return of long-term injury victims such as Chris Cadden and Harry McKirdy could help but they will need some shrewd recruitment to finish in the European places.

Dundee – 7th place

Take into account that yo-yo club Dundee were only promoted last season and Tony Docherty is in his maiden campaign as a manager, then they should be very satisfied with how they have fared so far. Docherty had to assemble a completely new team and there have been numerous success stories, not least captain and defender Joe Shaughnessy, who has developed a propensity for scoring late goals. Dundee are a spirited, organised team that doesn’t give up easily. Due to a number of call-offs, Dundee have games in hand over almost every team and while staying up would be an achievement this season, there is no reason why they cannot challenge for a top-six berth. Their cause is not aided, however, by best player Owen Beck being recalled by Liverpool. The left-back has been one of the league’s most impressive performers and was one of their chief attacking threats. Docherty will hope they are not diminished by his absence when the league resumes.

Aberdeen – 8th place

This has been a strange season so far for Aberdeen. The Dons reached the final of the Viaplay Cup, narrowly losing to Rangers, and they put a very commendable show in the Europa Conference League group stages. A win at home against Eintracht Frankfurt and commendable away draws at PAOK and HJK Helsinki resulted in Barry Robson’s men finishing third in the pool. The biggest concern, though, has been Aberdeen’s ropey league form. They have struggled to deal with the heavy fixture load that comes with fighting on multiple fronts and as a result, go into January sitting eighth in the table on 22 points. Tuesday’s 3-0 win at Ross County was significant as it gives Robson – who has come under fire from sections of his support – and his players some positive momentum when they return to domestic duties. Recent postponements mean Aberdeen have as many as four games in hand over some rivals and with the calendar a little less congested than the first half of the season, there is the opportunity to rise up the table and close the gap on Hearts. The Dons trailed third-placed Jambos by a wide margin at this point last season yet still overhauled them come the end of the campaign. Robson does not expect a busy January, but there is interest in two of his main forward players in Bojan Miovski and Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes. Miovski, their top scorer, is valued north of £5million and it has been reported that Celtic and clubs in Europe are weighing up a move. Duk was linked with Swiss club Young Boys Berne earlier this week and while Aberdeen do plan to cash in on their assets sooner rather than later, losing Miovski in particular at this stage of the season would be a significant blow.

Motherwell – 9th place

There will be relief around Fir Park that a 15-game winless run has not left Motherwell in a more perilous position in the league. They have struggled badly with injuries this season but even still, such a stretch of poor form threatened to undo all the good work manager Stuart Kettlewell has done since taking over a year ago. Beating Livingston 3-1 on December 30 should be a watershed moment for the Steelmen. Kettlewell hopes to welcome back some of his sidelined players after January and the forward area does not appear to be a huge problem, with Arsenal loanee Mika Biereth an impressive signing, while Theo Bair hit some form before the break. But having conceded the most goals out of all 12 teams this season, Kettlewell must tighten up his defence. It could be the difference between fighting for a top-six place – or fighting relegation.

St Johnstone – 10th place

Things are looking up in Perth following the arrival of Craig Levein. St Johnstone were toiling badly and bottom of the league under Steven MacLean, but canny operator Levein has made the Saints a much harder team to get the better off. Their defence looks much more organised and there is genuine optimism that they can stay out of relegation trouble and have a successful second part of the season. Wigan recalling wing-back Luke Robinson does not aid their cause, and Dara Costelloe has already swapped Perth for Dundee. Levein has bolstered his forward line with striker Benji Kimpioka and if he recruits correctly, you would expect them to stay out of harm’s way under the ex-Scotland and Hearts boss.

Ross County – 11th place

Derek Adams is back in Dingwall for a third spell as manager following the decision to axe Malky Mackay in November. After avoiding relegation by the skin of their teeth last season, the Staggies failed to improve sufficiently and the outspoken Adams, who has already criticised the standard of the league, hopes to bring in some of his own players to help his team improve. Adams’ former Motherwell team-mate Greg Strong has arrived as their head of recruitment ahead of the transfer window. County have looked a more attack-minded team under the former Morecambe manager and in Yan Dhanda, have a creative player able to unlock many defences. The Welshman is out of contract in the summer and Adams would not welcome any bids for his playmaker at this stage, given there is a danger they may finish 11th once again and have to rely on play-off heroics.

Livingston – 12th place

Alarm bells are ringing at the Tony Macaroni Arena, with the team on a 13-game winless run, little money to spend and a dispute over a recent takeover bid of the West Lothian club. They are six points adrift at the bottom of the table and while there were signs of life in the narrow 2-1 defeat by Hearts, manager David Martindale has been unable to find a winning formula and recently called on his players to take responsibility. With the smallest budget in the league, Livi have punched way above their weight in previous campaigns. However, there is a grave danger that the Lions could become detached should they not arrest their poor form when the league resumes. Joel Nouble, their main forward, has completely misfired this season and getting him back to form would be a starting point.