5 things we learned from this weekend’s cinch Premiership action

Rangers returned to within six points of Celtic at the top of the cinch Premiership with a 4-0 win at St Mirren where Kemar Roofe scored a hat-trick.

The league is now set for five exciting post-split fixtures after the weekend’s football separated the clubs into top and bottom six.

Here, PA media looks at the action from Saturday and Sunday.

Questions have been asked about Rangers’ ability to find the net in the absence of injured striker Alfredo Morelos. Roofe responded with a hat-trick against the Buddies in Paisley which brought a welcome winfor Giovanni Van Bronckhorst following two defeats. The former Leeds striker will be key for the Light Blues this week as they face Braga in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final at Ibrox on Thursday night – they are 1-0 down from the first leg- before taking on Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden Park next Sunday.

Ange Postecoglou’s side do not look like slipping up in their bid to wrest the title from Ibrox. Celtic were in scintillating form in Saturday’s 7-0 thrashing of St Johnstone at Parkhead. Goals from Reo Hatate, Giorgos Giakoumakis and Daizen Maeda effectively gave a relentless Hoops side all three points by the interval. Josip Juranovic added a fourth from the spot early in the second half and Matt O’Riley scored twice in three minutes before fellow substitute Liel Abada fired in a seventh and it was a true reflection on Celtic’s superiority and their hunger to win the league.

Hearts midfielder Andy Halliday has been mercilessly goaded by Hibernian supporters ever since the 2016 Scottish Cup final when he scored to put Rangers 2-1 ahead and then celebrated with a gesture that implied he felt the game was over, only for the Easter Road side to