Five teams vie for two places – how is top-six race shaping up?

Only four points separate the teams in sixth and ninth as they battle to clinch a spot in the top half and potentially secure European football in the coming season with two games until the Scottish Premiership splits.

The win over Ross County on Sunday all but guaranteed Dundee United’s top-six spot, while Aberdeen and Hibernian both won over Motherwell and St. Johnstone on Saturday, respectively.

St. Mirren also defeated Kilmarnock by five points to close the gap to sixth-placed Hearts, who were defeated by Celtic’s leaders by a score of 3-0.

The top flight of Scotland splits in half after the 12 clubs have played each other three times, for those who don’t know.

The bottom six and the top six then square off, leading to 38 matches played and the final league standings.

With two games to go, Hibernian clinched their position with a 3-0 victory, bringing them to 47 points.

When David Gray’s side lost their first 12 games to fall short of the Scottish Premiership, that was hardly believable in early November.

However, a fantastic run of form stabilized Leith and placed them one point ahead of them in third place.

After overcoming bottom side St Johnstone, Gray declared, “A fantastic day’s work and we fully deserved it.”

“Our goal is to finish in the top six minimum for this football club at the start of the season. Then, if that’s possible, you begin to consider European locations. That is the intention and the target.

We had a very difficult start, had to endure that hardship at the start of the season, and now have 15 games undefeated in the league, giving us the chance to finish in the top six with two games left.

Aberdeen won Motherwell 4-1 to cement their position in the top half.

Their route there has been radically different from Hibs’, with a run of 31 points from their first 11 games followed by a 14-game winless run.

Jimmy Thelin, who had three victories, two draws, and one defeat for Celtic in their final six games, was pleased to secure their top-half position.

Although St. Mirren and Motherwell are only one point ahead of Hearts, the Tynecastle side’s superior goal difference is almost a bonus at this point.

However, Motherwell’s opponents play it away in their final match before the split, which could prove crucial given the midtable’s congestedness.

As they attempt to defeat Hearts, which is boosted by their dominant 5-1 win over Kilmarnock on Saturday, St. Mirren are traveling to Dundee and home to Ross County.

When Motherwell travel to Rugby Park next weekend before that crucial game against Hearts, manager Michael Wimmer hopes to recover from their defeat by Aberdeen.

The Wimmer said, “We lost against a good team, but anything is possible because the table is so tight.”

It’s important that we work hard for 90 minutes, he said, “It’s good that we’re in the top six.”

“We need to concentrate on our next game against Kilmarnock, and we should be able to stay there when Hearts is played at home.

“I believe game 33 will be over because the table is so tight,” he said.

Ross County needs the most points and plenty of other results to fall to, while Dundee United only needs one point from their next two games to finish in the top six.