The Courier’s football writers have teamed up to assess the hopes and dreams of all the sides in our area ahead of the start of the new league season.
Our team of Ian Roache, Neil Robertson and Eric Nicolson will be in Press boxes across the land to bring you the latest reports, news and analysis.
Scottish Premiership
ST JOHNSTONE
The early exit from the Europa League was a huge disappointment but this squad is experienced enough to get over that. In fact, it already has. It’s also experienced enough to make sure they are nowhere near the relegation battle – which always has to be the first priority despite year after year to top six finishes. Don’t be lulled into thinking experience means soon to be over the hill, though. The squad isn’t as old as some lazily suggest. And don’t think that, despite the fact he inexplicably keeps getting ignored for jobs down south, manager Tommy Wright’s motivation will be dwindling. He and his players will want to keep proving the doubters wrong.
Stefan Scougall is the latest signing with something to prove after a mixed experience at his previous club and he should be a Premiership hit. And this could be the year for at least one academy product to establish himself in the first team. They say never go back, but Michael O’Halloran should prove that theory wrong. He’s a class act and Rangers failing to get the best out him doesn’t change that. With O’Halloran in full flow, Saints will hope to finish higher than at least one of the Edinburgh clubs.
Key man: Michael O’Halloran
Target: Top six
Prediction: Fifth
DUNDEE
There is a mood of quiet optimism emanating from the Dundee camp at the moment. The Dark Blues may have lost the Sunday’s Betfred Cup penalty shootout to neighbours United but there is undoubted excitement at the revamped squad manager Neil McCann has built this summer. Four of his eight new recruits started the cup-tie – Glen Kamara, Sofien Moussa, Scott Allan and Roarie Deacon. The latter was the pick of the bunch against United with Tam Scobbie probably still waking up in a cold sweat at the thought of defending against the winger when the sides meet again next week.
Kamara looks every inch a classy product of the Arsenal youth academy, while McCann believes there is more to come from Moussa once he is fully fit and Allan’s quality has never been in doubt. The manager – who thought long and hard about giving up his seat in the Sky TV studio before taking the Dundee job on a permanent basis – is fiercely competitive and his enthusiasm also seems to have rubbed off on players already at Dens. However, after the dangerous brush with relegation last season, the Dark Blues faithful will be hoping that all the early-season optimism is translated into tangible rewards in terms of victories especially at Dens.
Key man: Scott Allan
Target: Top six
Prediction: Seventh
Championship
DUNDEE UNITED
It has been a hectic start to the season for the Tangerines even before the league kicks off, thanks to a Betfred Cup derby against Dundee. That they came out on top in the penalty shoot-out after a 1-1 draw at Dens will have given United a real boost for the one that really matters – the Championship opener against Inverness Caley Thistle in the Highlands. It could have been an easier first league game for Ray McKinnon’s men, that’s for sure, and they don’t have their selection troubles to seek just now, albeit the excellent eve-of-campaign signing of Fraser Fyvie will obviously help.
This looks like being the season when United show everyone they have what it takes to get back to the Premiership after last season’s play-off final failure. They will have too much strength in depth, pace and talent for their opponents and with Hibs now elsewhere they should stamp their authority on the division once they have all their players fit and available.
Key man: Scott McDonald
Target: Promotion
Prediction: First
DUNFERMLINE
Dunfermline took longer to adjust to the Championship than most expected and missed out on the play-offs because of it. Not being able to score a penalty didn’t help. But they banished any fears of getting caught up in a relegation scrap like their Kirkcaldy neighbours and looked like a promotion play-off team in the waiting by the end of it. Pre-season was a bit of a worry but the Betfred Cup has shown the folly of reading too much into friendlies.
By knocking out Hearts, they’ll go into the league opener on a real high. Dundee United apart, you could make a case for the Pars having the strongest options up front in the Championship. Allan Johnston isn’t finished in the transfer market and the fixture list has given them a chance to get the strong start that was lacking 12 months ago. It’s probably more optimistic than realistic to expect a title challenge but if they can establish their play-off credentials early, rather than play catch-up, they look a better bet than Morton and Inverness Caley Thistle and every bit as strong as St Mirren and Falkirk.
Key man: Dean Shiels
Target: Play-offs
Prediction: Third
BRECHIN CITY
It hasn’t been a bed of roses for Brechin in the Betfred Cup, with the shoot-out success against Forfar the one bright spot among the defeats to Inverness Caley Thistle, Stirling Albion and Falkirk. That is perhaps a message to the club that it won’t be easy surviving among the bigger boys in the Championship this season.
There is no doubt this campaign will be a challenge for City and their talented manager Darren Dods. The key thing could be keeping cool heads if they get a bad run of results. That is not to say that there won’t be the odd great result in there and they should give some teams a test at Glebe Park.
Key man: Graeme Smith
Target: Survival
Prediction: 10th
League One
RAITH ROVERS
It would be fair to say that anything that could go wrong did go wrong for Raith Rovers last season. However, the club took the brave decision to stay full-time after the hammer blow of relegation from the Championship. That helped lure Barry Smith from part-time East Fife to take the reins. Smith was thrust into management after Dundee went into administration in 2010, but that novice is now a veteran. His stewardship will be vital this season with a squad short on numbers. Smith’s transfer business has been limited by budget restrictions but he pulled off a coup landing strikers Liam Buchanan and Greig Spence, while a fit Scott Robertson is another boost. Raith will start favourites to go straight back up, but Smith will taking nothing for granted.
Key man: Ross Callachan
Target: Promotion
Prediction: First
ARBROATH
Of all league-to-league gaps, that between Two and One is probably the smallest. Providing their squad isn’t broken up, the champions of the bottom league should expect to contend at the top end of the table the year after. The fact Dick Campbell’s playing staff looks stronger than in the last campaign (they actually paid a transfer fee) reinforces the idea that Arbroath will give back-to-back promotions a real go. He’ll get a torrid time when he plays at Station Park but Gavin Swankie may still have it in him to be a class act in League One, albeit an inconsistent one. There are several other course-and-distance performers at Gayfield. Raith Rovers and Ayr United are full-time and deservedly the favourites, but Dick Campbell knows the lower league waters better than any manager. You can’t underestimate the winning mentality Arbroath will bring with them, and four out of their first five games look winnable.
Key man: Ryan McCord
Target: Play-offs
Prediction: Fourth
FORFAR
Forfar made all the running at the top of League Two last season, only to be pipped by Arbroath. The fixtures between the Loons and Lichties this season will be games to savour. Manager Gary Bollan hasn’t had too much encouragement from the Betfred Cup campaign, losing the shootout to Brechin and suffering defeats to Stirling Albion, Falkirk and Inverness CT, but things will settle down when the league business begins.
Key man: Simon Mensing
Target: Survival
Prediction: Seventh
EAST FIFE
Just missing out on the promotion play-offs last season was hard to take. However, the squad was ravaged by injury with the manager at the time. Before the physio’s room started filling up, East Fife put together an 11-game unbeaten run between December and the start of February. Manager Barry Smith moved on at the end of the season, lured by the chance of managing full-time again with Raith Rovers. Darren Young took the reins at Bayview but the injury curse has struck again, undermining their Betfred Campaign with the manager having to dust down his boots again. Young only had three subs including himself for their final game in the cup against Elgin on Tuesday, with the team winning 3-2. That should give the Fifers a boost ahead of their league opener at Stranraer.
Key man: Chris Duggan
Target: Promotion play-offs
Prediction: Sixth
League Two
Cowdenbeath
To say Cowdenbeath got a scare last season would be an understatement. They were a penalty shoot-out away from dropping out of the SPFL for the first time in their history, and goodness knows what the consequences of that would have been. It was an early summer blow to lose manager Gary Locke to Hearts, but the upside of appointing Billy Brown as his successor was Locke’s number two already knew the squad and where it needed to be improved. It is always hard to judge recruitment at this level at this stage of the season, especially as a couple of players have been brought in from top-flight clubs. It has to be a ‘wait and see.’ In a league where tried and tested usually prevails, it is a worry that the Central Park squad has a youthful look about it (their oldest outfield player against Dundee United hadn’t even turned 25). A couple of experienced signings before the window closes could make all the difference.
Key man: Kyle Miller
Target: Promotion play-offs
Prediction: Seventh
Montrose
Montrose have not had their troubles to seek in recent seasons and it was just two years ago that their very SPFL existence was under threat when they had to take part in the historic first pyramid play-off with Brora Rangers. So not surprisingly, the fact that Stewart Petrie’s side made it all the way to the promotion play-offs in the last campaign sparked a massive feelgood factor around the club. The manager has to take a lot of credit for that achievement – he is one of the most positive guys in the Scottish game and that enthusiasm seems to rub off on everyone he meets. Petrie did most of his transfer business very early in one big swoop bringing in the likes of Matty Allan from Dundee and Martyn Fotheringham from Forfar. However, arguably his biggest coup was the later capture of former Dundee United skipper Sean Dillon. Petrie’s powers of persuasion convinced the Irishman to choose Montrose over a whole host of other clubs from higher leagues. A good start as ever will be key and Petrie will be hoping that the injuries that blighted Montrose’s Betfred Cup campaign will ease up before the league opener against Edinburgh City.
Key man: Sean Dillon
Target: Promotion play-offs
Prediction: Fourth
