Five things we learned from the final weekend of the Ladbrokes Premiership

Aberdeen midfielder Kenny McLean. Picture: SNS

Celtic 0 - 1 Aberdeen: Considine goal enough for Dons to finish second

Here are five things we learned from the season finale.

1. Aberdeen can do it when it matters

The Dons have been accused of failing on the big stage after taking only one point from a possible 12 against Rangers and suffering two 3-0 cup defeats by Motherwell. But they picked the perfect time to end a 10-game losing run against champions Celtic as Andrew Considine’s goal inflicted Brendan Rodgers’ first domestic defeat at Parkhead. The victory secured a fourth successive runners-up spot for Derek McInnes and his side.

2. Madcap 10-goal thriller underlines the size of task awaiting Steven Gerrard

Critics have long regarded Rangers a basket case for their off-the-pitch shenanigans but events at Easter Road proved they are just as capable of making a mess of it on it. Hibs simply blew the Light Blues away inside 22 minutes as they raced to a 3-0 lead. But even when Rangers got their act together and incredibly hit back with five goals they could not hang on, allowing Jamie Maclaren to wrap up a late hat-trick and seal a crazy 5-5 draw. As many as a dozen Rangers players face an uncertain future.

3. Neil Lennon has rediscovered his enthusiasm

Four days after threatening to quit after an Edinburgh derby defeat, the Hibs head coach insisted he was 100 per cent committed to the club. He underlined that with some memorable on-pitch celebrations after his side’s injury-time equaliser. The aeroplane-style antics cost him a red card but he didn’t care and will now set about replacing key players such as the departing Dylan McGeouch.

4. The Highlands are a Premiership wilderness

Ross County followed local rivals Inverness in going down a year after Caley Thistle suffered the drop, as a 1-1 draw against St Johnstone sealed their fate. Next season will be the first time since 2010 that the area has not had top-flight representation. County’s six-year stay in the top division ended after chairman Roy MacGregor’s decision to replace Jim McIntyre with Owen Coyle in September backfired spectacularly after winning only four games during his five-month reign.

5. Neil McCann is a hard man to please

If Dundee’s players thought they had done their job by securing their Ladbrokes Premiership safety before the last match of the season then they were disabused of that notion following a 1-0 home defeat which ensured Partick Thistle will face Dundee United’s conquerors, Livingston, in the play-offs. The ninth-placed home side’s performance had been less than sparkling but nevertheless the media were somewhat taken aback when an “angry” McCann spoke of an “unacceptable” 90 minutes, accusing his players of “short-changing” the supporters and concluding: “I am just not putting up with that”.