5 things we learned from Scottish football this weekend

Celtic’s title celebrations have been put on ice after they were held by Livingston to a 0-0 draw at Parkhead.

Here Press Association Sport takes a look at five other things we learned from the weekend’s Ladbrokes Premiership action.

1. Shameful scenes show no sign of relenting

Scottish football has spent too much time this season in the spotlight for the wrong reasons with a string of incidents involving coin throwing, pitch invasions and offensive chants damaging the game’s reputation. Managers, clubs and the governing body have appealed to supporters to behave until they are blue in the face but it has made no difference as the shameful scenes continued on an almost weekly basis. The latest incidents saw a coconut and smoke bombs hurled onto the Tynecastle pitch during Saturday’s Edinburgh derby, while 24 hours later Rangers skipper James Tavernier had to dodge a lighter thrown by a Motherwell fan. When will sense prevail?

2. Steven Gerrard must look to replicate Scott Arfield signing this summer

There have rightly been questions asked about the performance of the Rangers boss in his debut campaign at Ibrox, especially his effectiveness in the transfer market, but there can be little complaints about the signing of Arfield. The 30-year-old has contributed 11 goals so far since moving on a Bosman switch from Burnley and his first ever career hat-trick sealed a 3-0 win against Motherwell. Gerrard will hope his next batch of new recruits this summer can provide similar value.

3. Craig Levein under strain after derby defeat

Hearts started the season like a runaway train but the Tynecastle support were not happy as their side hit the buffers against city foes Hibernian on Saturday. The 2-1 defeat to Paul Heckingbottom’s men sparked a furious response from the Gorgie faithful, who have become disillusioned with the ‘one-dimensional’ tactics employed by boss Levein. The former Scotland manager has already stated he hopes to introduce some more flair into the side over the summer but the remainder of the current campaign could become ugly unless his team can find a way to soothe the fans’ disgruntlement.

4. Anders Dreyer coming into bloom at perfect time for St Mirren

The on-loan Brighton ace has taken his time to settle in Paisley since making his January switch. But the Danish Under-21 winger made his biggest contribution so far as he inspired the Buddies to a valuable point against Hamilton, scoring their equaliser from the penalty spot. Oran Kearney’s men remain four points behind Accies and outright safety after the 1-1 draw but Dreyer’s emergence as a key man at the business end of the season could be just the boost they need.

5. Dundee left with little room for error

Jim McIntyre was hoping his January refurbishment would spark a revival in fortunes at Dens Park. But seven straight defeats have seen the Dark Blues slump three points adrift at the bottom. McIntyre admitted after his side’s 2-0 defeat to Aberdeen that his team would likely require four wins out of their last five games if they were to beat the drop, but that looks a tall order for a team whose confidence levels have hit rock bottom.