Thursday finish in keeping with the strangest of SPL seasons

The Scottish Premier League title will be decided on Thursday night and the midweek finish is in keeping with the strangest of seasons north of the border.

Fixture pile-ups, freak weather conditions, accusations of favouritism towards and against members of the Old Firm, glorious European nights and three-figure crowds have all been factors in the 2007/08 campaign.

At the top, Celtic have shown amazing tenacity to stay in the title race to the extent that a third successive league crown is now within their grasp.

Question were being asked about Gordon Strachan's future earlier in the year but, faced with his first real challenge from Rangers since coming back to Scotland, the Bhoys boss has kept his cool and his faith in a squad that is now definitively his.

Over at Ibrox, Walter Smith's side could end up with 'only' two cups to show for what has been a colossal effort over the past nine months. Ultimately in Scotland it is the league title that matters but with the money generated from their success so far this season, Smith will be well-placed to improve his squad in the summer.

Motherwell's third-place finish signalled the re-emergence of Mark McGhee as a managerial force.

Labelled the new Alex Ferguson after his early success at Reading, McGhee returned to Scotland after becoming mired in lower-division obscurity in England and revitalised Motherwell to such an extent that they will be playing in the Uefa Cup next season.

McGhee also won huge praise for the way he led from the front after the death of Phil O'Donnell and his stock has risen to such an extent that Motherwell's main concern has been holding on to him.

European football and a talented young squad should ensure McGhee is at Fir Park next season however.

Dundee United also returned to the right end of the table under another manager who seems happy to be back in Scotland. Craig Levein led the Tannadice club to a League Cup final where they came within a whisker of beating Rangers and to some notable results in the league against the Old Firm. Celtic will be hoping there is not one more surprise to come on Thursday night.

Rangers run to the Uefa Cup final, Celtic's to the Champions League knockout stages and the welcome return of big European nights at Pittodrie were all high spots and all achieved by Scottish managers and a substantial number of Scottish players.

Home-grown bosses such as John Hughes at Falkirk and Craig Brewster at Inverness worked wonders with tight budgets while Alan Hutton and Craig Gordon's moves to the Premiership were clear indicators of the talent on show in the SPL.

On the downside, Gretna's first and only season in the top-flight has been little short of farcical from the word go. Forced to play at Motherwell's Fir Park, the illness suffered by benefactor Brook Mileson left them struggling to see out the campaign. Crowds of 501 and 431 attended two of their fixtures and extinction seems the most likely outcome of the financial crisis.

Gretna's imminent demise and the fixture pile-up that has dogged the SPL since the turn of the year may see an end to two of the League's recent innovations.

Having to play games away from their home ground while it was being renovated to meet SPL standards was a huge drain on Gretna while the splitting of the league into a top and bottom-six was rendered farcical by the sight of Rangers (currently 2nd), playing St Mirren (currently 10th) on Monday night, weeks after the split.

Hearts have again been dogged by accusations that owner Vladimir Romanov is taking too keen an interest in first-team affairs although matters have improved slightly since Stephen Frail was handed control of first-team affairs. He may not be around too much longer however as Mr Romanov has recently said that a more experienced manager was being sought.

Romanov also returned to a familiar hobby horse when presenting Hearts' annual financial results, claiming that the league in Scotland was fixed in favour of Celtic and Rangers.

Craig Levein was also forceful in his opinions after seeing his side defeated at Ibrox recently but the accusations of favouritism came from the top as well, with Walter Smith and Rangers seething over what they saw as a lack of help with fixtures arund the time of the Uefa Cup final.