Victory against Dundee United was required to end Celtic's quest for a fourth successive championship and Walter Smith's men duly obliged with goals from Kyle Lafferty, Pedro Mendes and Kris Boyd in a 3-0 win.

At times success had looked unlikely - defeat at St Mirren, falling seven points behind Celtic at the turn of the year, losing to rock-bottom Inverness and experiencing a crushing draw at Hibernian.

But, for the second year in a row, the helicopter carrying the trophy headed for Tannadice and, this time, it was Rangers who were celebrating after falling at the final hurdle and surrendering to their bitter rivals 12 months ago.

For United - this game marked their centenary - there was double despair as they were pipped to the final European berth by Aberdeen.

In the end, the Rangers' result did not matter as Celtic drew a blank against Hearts.

The Ibrox side's win at Tannadice ultimately rendered the Hoops' last game of the season meaningless.

However, the Parkhead side could not finish the campaign in style and forced their fans to sit through another afternoon of missed chances, which has characterised many a game in this campaign.

Striker Scott McDonald wasted the best opportunity in the first half when he blasted wide from close range with Aiden McGeady and Shunsuke Nakamura drawing good saves from Jambos goalkeeper Marian Kello.

The spotlight will fall on manager Gordon Strachan again and speculation about his future will intensify over the summer if not over the next few days.

Aberdeen qualified for the Europa League thanks to a deserved 2-1 win over a lacklustre Hibernian, which secured fourth place.

The Dons took the lead in bizarre circumstances when the Hibs goalkeeper Yves Ma-Kalambay kicked the ball off Lee Miller and could only watch in agony as the ball rebounded off the striker's back and into the net.

The home side doubled their advantage when Charlie Mulgrew curled an exquisite free-kick into the net after 45 minutes.

Hibs gave themselves hope just before the half-time whistle when Derek Riordan cut inside and fired beyond Jamie Langfield.

The Dons held on for the victory in a tense second half, which saw the visitors reduced to 10 men when Ian Murray was sent off for a second booking and Sone Aluko miss a late penalty.