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Five talking points from this weekend's Scottish Premiership action

:Headline: Five talking points from this weekend's Scottish Premiership action:
Rangers are lucky to escape with a draw, while Celtic could have found a new centre-back.
Sports Mole

Rangers' lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership table was trimmed to 21 points after they slipped up at Hamilton, while Hibernian cemented their grip on third with victory over Aberdeen.

Here the PA news agency takes a look at five things we learned from this weekend's Scottish action.

Rangers still have work to do to claim title

The excited Ibrox faithful have been ticking off the results their team need to end a decade-long wait to be crowned champions once again. But the Light Blues' countdown clock remains stuck on six wins to glory after they put in a slack display at Hamilton. Ross Callachan rescued a deserved point for Accies as he cancelled out Brian Easton's own goal with the last kick of the game and Rangers will have to up their game if they want to get the title wrapped up before the split.

Celtic get their centre-back?

Celtic's Stephen Welsh (right) celebrates scoring his first goal for the club (Jane Barlow/PA)

Neil Lennon has mixed and matched in the centre of his defence this season, with Kristoffer Ajer, Shane Duffy, Nir Bitton and Christopher Jullien all getting a chance at different times. Stephen Welsh could now get an extended run alongside Ajer. The 21-year-old academy product has played the full 90 minutes of the Hoops' last two matches and scored his first Celtic goal in Saturday's 2-1 win over Motherwell. Some solid defending to boot will likely see him get a run in the side.

Hibs steal a march in the race for third

It was only Hibernian's third win in 21 league meetings with Aberdeen but could herald a reversal in fortunes between the teams this season. Dons goalkeeper Joe Lewis saved three one-on-ones to keep the score down to 2-0. While Hibs turned down bids for their star players in January, Aberdeen sold Sam Cosgrove and Scott Wright, while boss Derek McInnes has seen Ryan Hedges and now Greg Leigh suffer injuries. Hibs could well extend their lead before McInnes can get his new-look front line up to speed.

New Killie boss has a huge job on his hands

Tommy Wright is the leading contender to replace Alex Dyer and Kilmarnock's head of football operations James Fowler hopes the new boss will be in place by Monday so he can get to work with his new team before Wednesday's visit of Motherwell. And, judging by Saturday's rudderless display at St Mirren, former St Johnstone boss Wright will have to work wonders if he is to save Killie from the drop this term. There was little sign of a game plan other than playing the ball long to Danny Whitehall in Paisley and the brilliant Buddies deservedly claimed a 2-0 win, with goals from Kyle McAllister and Jon Obika leaving Killie a point above the drop zone after 10 defeats in their last 13 games.

St Johnstone send Livi cup final warning

Saturday's dress rehearsal for this month's Betfred Cup final saw Callum Davidson's team come out on top. Scott Tanser and Shaun Rooney gave Saints the win, with Scott Pittman's reply not enough to save David Martindale's 14-match unbeaten run as boss. The Perth side will now hope they have halted the Lions' momentum and can double up on their victory when it really counts at Hampden on February 28.

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Scottish Premiership Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1RangersRangers2824406886076
2Celtic27177361214058
3Hibernian28147739261349
4Aberdeen2712873128344
5Livingston27116103531439
6St Mirren2695122632-632
7Dundee UnitedDundee Utd28710112338-1531
8St Johnstone2879122737-1030
9Motherwell2777132539-1428
10Kilmarnock2873182640-1424
11Ross County2865172153-3223
12Hamilton AcademicalHamilton2655162352-2920
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Championship Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Brentford28169355282757
2Norwich CityNorwich28167535231255
3Swansea CitySwansea27158435152053
4Watford28139631201148
5Reading2814684132948
6Bournemouth28129743281545
7Middlesbrough28117103128340
8Blackburn RoversBlackburn271161041291239
9Stoke CityStoke2891273229339
10Bristol City28123132933-439
11Cardiff CityCardiff28107113732537
12Preston North EndPreston28113143236-436
13Barnsley27106112934-536
14Millwall2871472626035
15Luton TownLuton2797112229-734
16Queens Park RangersQPR2789102632-633
17Huddersfield TownHuddersfield2896133139-833
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2888122530-532
19Coventry CityCoventry28710112637-1131
20Rotherham UnitedRotherham2785143338-529
21Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds2897122130-928
22Derby CountyDerby2777131728-1128
23Birmingham CityBirmingham28610122134-1328
24Wycombe WanderersWycombe2737171847-2916
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