2026/27 Scottish League One preview

League One looks like an absolute humdinger this season, and I am glad that my team are no longer in it.

Given that there is generally a combination of full-time and part-time teams, along with some 'hybrid' ones, it is usually safe to assume the FT sides will be nearer the top and the PT ones nearer the bottom. This season might be a bit different though. Some of the smaller clubs have made some impressive signings, even if that may be a case of running to stand still. Conversely, there are full-time teams who are little more than a shambles.

At the moment it's hard to see past ROSS COUNTY for the title. They have had a proper reset following back-to-back relegations and it seems that Stuart Kettlewell has used the summer wisely both to bring in quality and to get the team playing watchable football. Brian Graham will be 39 later this year but is still more than capable of ragdolling defenders and racking up the goals as long as Adam Emslie (finally getting his chance after being punted on loan last year) and Richard Chin (signed from Raith) provide the supply. Lewis Strapp (Airdrie) and Lewis Reid (Stranraer) have bolstered a defence that still includes Akil Wright, while Chris Hamilton (Dunfermline) adds further experience in the middle of the pitch where they still have Jamie Lindsay and Ross Docherty. No-one can match County's depth and I don't think anyone can go toe-to-toe with their first XI either.

If anyone is going to challenge the Staggies, it'll probably be HAMILTON ACADEMICAL who have bounced back from last season's points deduction and appear to be back on an even keel. Star striker Oli Shaw left as expected but otherwise Accies have actually held on to most of last season's team and players like right-back Aaron Comrie and midfielder Cameron Blues (both signed from Morton) and attackers Dom Thomas (Airdrie), Andy Ryan (Larne, back for his third spell at the club) and Taylor Sutherland (Montrose) strengthen them. Veteran Stuart Bannigan (Ayr) also gives them some nous and steel. I can certainly see them finishing second this season, instead of second-bottom.

As the team relegated via the playoffs, you'd expect AIRDRIEONIANS to be in the promotion mix, but they've ripped everything up this summer, sacking manager Aaron Taylor-Sinclair and gutting the squad - fifteen first team players and three loan players moved on. New boss John Rankin has almost had to build a new team from scratch and has brought in fourteen new faces so far, some of whom are largely unknown quantities from down south. Of the more recognisable names, I like the addition of Matty Yates (Linfield) up front and Sam Fisher (Dunfermline) in defence, but it's a bold move to bring in 35 year old Declan Gallagher (Ross County) as player-assistant manager after a season so terrible that it will live in Dingwall infamy.

QUEEN OF THE SOUTH are also in the midst of a rebuild, but their new player-manager Nicky Clark is starting from a position of even greater weakness and hasn't had his problems to seek. New player-coach Trevor Carson chose to retire just a few weeks after signing, leaving them searching for a keeper; they have just signed Deniz Mehmet (Dunfermline) to play between the sticks, but still don't have a backup. Worse, winger Kai Kennedy refused to turn up for pre-season and forced his exit, while the departure of Reece Lyon (Ayr) weakens the midfield. The additions of Peterhead backup Caleb Goldie and Edinburgh City's Chris McQueen do not really solidify the back line; Clark and Kurtis Guthrie may have to score a lot of goals to keep them afloat.

The state of play at COVE RANGERS, who have a mix of full- and part-time players, looks even worse. It wasn't until some time after the end of last season that Paul Hartley confirmed he'd stay in post - it's hard to walk away when the Director of Football is your father-in-law - but the loss of talismanic striker Mitch Megginson and seasoned midfield duo Blair Yule and Declan Glass weakens them massively. Aside from target man Jordan White (Ross County) their signings have been mostly youngsters who appear to be making up numbers or just dart throws. The front two of White (aged 34) and Chris Maguire (37) must be the oldest in the SPFL.

It certainly wouldn't be a surprise to see one or two of the part-time teams near the top end, and the best bet looks to be EAST KILBRIDE who rewarded the squad that got them up from League Two by releasing most of them and upgrading in nearly every area. Winger Owen Moffar (Morton) looks the most exciting of the fifteen new players Mick Kennedy has brought in (not counting Timam Scott who left for Clyde about five minutes after signing for EK), but impressive performances against Dunfermline and St. Mirren in the League Cup suggest they are gelling just fine. The departure of League Two Player of the Year John Robertson and loan forward Connor Young does potentially leave them a little short on goals, but Cameron Elliott scored six goals in the League Cup and may be the solution to that.

MONTROSE are a more left-field suggestion for a good season, given they have been mid-table stalwarts for goodness knows how long. Stewart Petrie continues to evolve the side by moving on a few veterans every summer for new blood, and the captures of Shaun McGinty (Airdrie) in defence, Shaun Byrne (Raith) and Declan Glass (Cove) in midfield, and Gary Oliver (Falkirk) up front give plenty cause for optimism. Oliver doesn't score many goals but usually makes the other attackers more potent, so it could be a big year for Blair Lyons and Ewan Loudon.

ALLOA ATHLETIC made the promotion playoffs last time out but have had a pretty quiet offseason. They will again look to take full advantage of a co-operation agreement with Rangers, which has this term led to the acquisition of exciting 16 year old Kyle Glasgow (remember the name). Ross Stewart (Queen of the South) should cover the loss of outstanding loanee goalkeeper Liam McFarlane, but it's mostly same old Alloa, looking to seasoned players like full-backs Calum Waters and Scott Taggart, midfielders Steven Hetherington, Kurtis Roberts and Stefan Scougall and forward Luke Donnelly who have been there seemingly forever.

Normally PETERHEAD would tend towards only modest transfer activity and stick with a familiar core, so it's worth noting that they've brought in eleven new players this summer. They will hope that bringing in Mitch Megginson (Cove) will offset the loss of star striker Kieran Shanks, who has gone full-time with Ayr. Busy attacker James Stokes (Edinburgh City) has earned a crack at a higher division, while Eritrean international midfielder Robel Teklemichael is surely the most intriguing signing in the SPFL for a while. With the seasoned Peter Pawlett and Cammy Smith still on board the Blue Toon look to be in a decent place.

And finally, EAST FIFE finished 2025/26 so poorly that they nearly got dragged into a relegation battle, which didn't seem to bode well for this rodeo. But Dick Campbell's side gave both Inverness Caley Thistle and St. Johnstone a fright in the League Cup to remind us that they maybe shouldn't be dismissed lightly. Nevertheless their five signings - two from the Lowland League, two from League Two (including keeper Derek Gaston) and one from English non-league - do not inspire confidence, particularly as it seems as if Campbell has lost his golden touch in the transfer market from his early Arbroath days. East Fife got a lot out of loan players last season and may need to pull off the same trick again.

So my inevitably wrong predicted table looks like this:

1. ROSS COUNTY

2. HAMILTON ACADEMICAL

3. EAST KILBRIDE

4. AIRDRIEONIANS

5. MONTROSE

6. PETERHEAD

7. ALLOA ATHLETIC

8. QUEEN OF THE SOUTH

9. EAST FIFE

10. COVE RANGERS

Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly.

2026/27 Scottish League Two preview

Last season, it wasn't a massive surprise that East Kilbride won League Two, given they seemed to enjoy financial backing that their peers couldn't match. It also wasn't a massive surprise that Edinburgh City ended up bottom, given their points deduction.

But aside from the Citizens' spectacular collapse after Christmas (they still won the relegation playoff though) it was generally a close, competitive league. In 2026/27 there's no obvious favourite to win the division, and there's no obvious favourite to be Club 42 either.

So predicting the table for the coming season is clearly a mug's game. When has that ever stopped me, though?

ANNAN ATHLETIC
I thought Annan would really struggle last year but Wullie Gibson steadied the ship and earned a new contract; they were never really at risk of the drop or in the promotion playoff hunt. Talismanic striker Tommy Goss is away, and the defence has lost regulars Max Kilsby and Ryan Muir. Veteran Aaron Muirhead has returned to see out his career at the club where it all started and probably has enough left in the tank, but they really need ex-Airdrie forward Cammy Cooper to show something at a lower level.

CLYDE

Darren Young's side seemed to get better as the season progressed and he has mostly managed to get the band back together. Winger Timam Scott looks the pick of the newbies, if you don't count keeper Jay Hogarth (who signed for Falkirk and then was loaned back). Scott Williamson and Kyle Connell provided sufficient firepower up top and they will fancy that they can beat last term's third placed finish.

DUMBARTON

Last season's struggles seemed less due to the quality of the squad - especially after January - and more down to issues in the dugout. The jury is still out on manager Frank McKeown but he seems to have been well backed. Getting loan keeper Aidan Rice back is a coup and they have added Tommy Robson to a defence that is well marshalled by Somali international Ali Omar. A front line of Bang Bang Deryn Lang and Leighton McIntosh is okay but another striker would be welcome. How high they can finish probably depends on whether the coach can get them to equal the sum of their parts.

EDINBURGH CITY
A points deduction and Michael McIndoe's decision to gut his squad in January and play lots of youngsters made 2025/26 a bit of a crazy one for City, and it's no surprise that McIndoe has brought in almost an entirely new team ahead of this campaign. Cammy McKinley scored lots of goals in the Lowland League and will be expected to lead the line, while the arrival of the Leitch brothers and Ricky Waugh overhauls the midfield. Don't expect them to be at the bottom again, but it's bound to be a wild ride.

ELGIN CITY

Elgin's summer has been overshadowed by the dismissal of Allan Hale under curious circumstances, and his replacement Stefan Laird is somewhat unproven. On the bright side, defender Evan Towler (Montrose) and young winger Kieran Willox (who was on loan at Inverness from Stoke City last season) look like good additions. However top scorer Ryan Sargent has returned to the Highland League and Kane Hester is coming off a mediocre campaign. The worry is that other clubs are overtaking them.

FORFAR ATHLETIC

Forfar scraped into the promotion playoffs last season and have a lot to thank veteran boss Jim Weir for. It's fair to say he got the most out of a limited squad and with star defender Stuart Morrison and forward Jake Sutherland away he will need to do the same again. They've not really improved the team much via the transfer market so far and will be very vulnerable if veteran striker Martin Rennie doesn't get into double figures.

KELTY HEARTS
Expectations should probably be high for the club that was relegated from League One last time out, but it's certainly not clear that they should bounce straight back up. Keeper Jamie Smith and midfielder Connor McManus look like solid additions and they still have the creativity of Innes Murray and Lewis Moore. Up front Ryan Shanley has a great record at this level. Bringing back 37 year old Kallum Higginbotham seems a weird one though.

STIRLING ALBION

Stirling's eighth placed finish was their worst for twenty-three years and understandably got Alan Maybury the boot. Steven Whittaker is the new man in charge and their success probably depends on how he fares in his first managerial role. Bringing in Josh Mullin from Raith certainly looks like a coup and an attack of Russell MacLean, Jordan Allan and Dunfermline loanee Lucas Fyfe could be dangerous. I'm intrigued by the signing of former Celtic and Bayern Munich starlet Barry Hepburn too.

STRANRAER

Stranraer quietly improved last season to the point that they were unlucky to miss the playoffs. They particularly used the loan market well and have signed Dom Plank and Dean Cleland permanently after good spells last year. There are high expectations for Hibs full-back Lewis Gillie. The loss of top scorer Deryn Lang is a problem though and they generally lacked goals last season from other areas, while star centre-back Lewis Reid - a nominee for League Two Player of the Year last time out - has stepped up to full-time football with Ross County.

THE SPARTANS

Never forget the 'The'. They were pipped to the title by Kilby and then got beaten by Clyde in the playoffs. Dougie Samuel has a settled side and the attacking combo of Mark Stowe and Marc McNulty will take them a long way. David Mackay's arrival from Alloa will improve the defence and veteran midfielders Sean Welsh and James Craigen provide plenty of nous. They should be there or thereabouts again.

So my inevitably wrong predicted table looks like this:

1. CLYDE

2. THE SPARTANS

3. KELTY HEARTS

4. STIRLING ALBION

5. DUMBARTON

6. EDINBURGH CITY

7. STRANRAER

8. FORFAR ATHLETIC

9. ANNAN ATHLETIC

10. ELGIN CITY

Feel free to bookmark this and use it against me in the coming weeks and months!

Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly.

Worst Signings of the 2025/26 Premiership season (part 2)

The rankings from 25 to 11 can be found here.

Here's this season's top ten...

10. AGEU (HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN)

Hearts fans can absolutely bookmark this to use it against me when he tears the league apart next season. However at the time of writing he has started only one game and played little more than bit parts in a few others at a cost of nearly £2million.

9. PLAMEN GALABOV (DUNDEE)

Galabov has five caps for Bulgaria, but the last of those was in 2023. Apparently he was given a glowing reference by countryman Stiliyan Petrov, inspiring Dundee to offer a two year deal in the summer. He played two League Cup games before dropping out of contention. In September Steven Pressley insisted he would get his chance in the team, but he never got on the pitch again before leaving by "mutual consent" in January. 

8. JANNIK WANNER (LIVINGSTON)

Livingston actually paid a fee for the German winger, who was given a three year contract. After some early struggles he was punted on loan to St. Johnstone, in the hope he would do a 'Joel Nouble' and come back a different player after a few months. He didn't. St. Johnstone lost faith in him quickly and he has made only one sub appearance since returning to Livi in January. File this under 'player most likely to be mutually consented this summer'.

7. MAX AARONS (RANGERS)

Aarons was meant to be the successor for James Tavernier at right-back as well as covering at left-back. By the end of the season he was third choice behind Tavernier and Dujon Sterling, and Danny Rohl even preferred Sterling as the emergency left-back. Aarons will be forever remembered for the early red card in Brugge that led to a spectacular collapse in the Champions League Qualifiers. He has fallen a long way from a player that Bournemouth signed for £12million less than three years ago; he will go back there this summer.

6. EMILE ACQUAH (DUNDEE)

Acquah's last touch as a Dundee player (so far, at least) looked like a certain goal, only for Craig Gordon to produce the save of the season to preserve Hearts' win at Dens Park. Acquah was loaned to Harrogate Town a few days later, where he failed to score for the League Two strugglers. His only Dundee goal was at Bonnyrigg Rose in the League Cup. He still has two years left on his Dundee contract.

5. KION ETETE (ST. MIRREN)

The giant striker joined on loan from Cardiff in January. Having been hooked at half-time on his debut, he struggled so much in a Cup game against Airdrie after coming on as a sub that he was himself substituted at the start of extra-time, having played for just 27 minutes. He's only played two minutes of football since, and has been injured - a blessing for everyone, it seems. It appears he struggled so much on loan at Rotherham in the first half of the season that he might go down as the worst signing of 2025/26 for two different clubs.

4. JOEL MVUKA (CELTIC)

Celtic's signing strategy in January seemed very much a case of throwing loads of things at a wall and seeing if anything stuck. Mvuka certainly didn't stick. Martin O'Neill claimed that “Joel is a talented player who has a very good level of experience achieved at some really good clubs. He will give the squad another option, he is very quick, able to play on both wings and I am sure he will make a very positive contribution to the club." He has made two Scottish Cup appearances (and was subbed at half-time in his only start), while he has rarely even made the bench in the league. So much for that positive contribution. His absence from the club Player of the Year awards was noted and a likely sign that he's already mentally back at his parent club, if not physically.

3. JOE ROTHWELL (RANGERS)

Rothwell was the standard-bearer for the Russell Martin era, the player who had played for him before, who knew exactly what to expect, and who would be able to school his teammates in a new system. And he was as hopeless as his manager. Rothwell looked ponderous and completely unequipped for a physical battle. Danny Rohl quickly sidelined him and the £2million signing ended up being allowed to leave on a free transfer within six months.

2. KUSINI YENGI (ABERDEEN)

Yengi's debut against Hearts was a special kind of awful, to the point where he actually managed to hit the post when he mishit his shot. It didn't get a lot better. Aberdeen moved quickly to get in Kevin Nisbet and Marko Lazetic so that they barely had to use Yengi again, and he was punted out on loan to Japan in January. However he tore a thigh muscle a couple of months ago so the Dons may find it hard to move him on permanently this summer.

1. MICHEL-ANGE BALIKWISHA (CELTIC)

Celtic had apparently pursued the left winger for two years, and Brendan Rodgers was apoplectic that the board didn't get him in before the Champions League debacle against Kairat. And yet Balikwisha has been hopeless. He hasn't started a league game since September, and was last seen being subbed after a mediocre performance against Auchinleck Talbot in the cup in January. He hasn't been injured, he's just been overlooked in favour of players like Yang who aren't even left wingers. And Balikwisha cost £4.5million...

Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly.

Worst Signings of the 2025/26 Premiership season (part 1)

Your customary reminders of the previous 'winners' of this prestigious award:

2012/13: Rory Boulding (Kilmarnock)

2013/14: Stephane Bahoken (St. Mirren)

2014/15: Jim Fenlon (Ross County)

2015/16: Rodney Sneijder (Dundee United)

2016/17: Joey Barton (Rangers)

2017/18: Eduardo Herrera (Rangers)

2018/19: Umar Sadiq (Rangers)

2019/20: Madis Vihmann (St. Johnstone)

2020/21: Shane Duffy (Celtic)

2021/22: Matty Longstaff (Aberdeen)

2022/23: Anthony Stewart (Aberdeen)

2023/24: Sam Lammers (Rangers)

2024/25: Kevin Van Veen (St. Mirren)

Now, let's get down to business with the 2025/26 vintage. I was not short of candidates for this season's list, so there are certainly some players who would have been a shoo-in in years gone past that didn't make it this time around.

As always this is split into two parts. Here's the rundown from 25 to 11...

25. ISAAC PAPPOE (DUNDEE UNITED)

The Ghanaian under-20 international wrecked his knee in only his fourth appearance for United back in August and was ruled out for the rest of the season. Attempts by the club to end his loan in January were unsuccessful, which presumably means they've been stuck with paying his wages for all this time.

24. LEWIS MONTSMA (DUNDEE)

Dutch defender Montsma joined Dundee at the end of the January window. "Dundee is a great opportunity for me. The main thing in my career is to play games again" he said. He hasn't made a single appearance for the Dark Blues. He's on a deal to the end of the season, plus a year's option; I'm guessing the option won't be taken up.

23. SAM HART (FALKIRK)

Hart was hooked at half-time during his first start and hasn't got on the pitch since Christmas. However he is still hanging around at Falkirk, either as a deep depth piece for the defence or because parent club Port Vale refused to take him back.

22. ZAC WILLIAMS (KILMARNOCK)

Williams is a Welsh under-21 international defender who had been a regular for Crewe Alexandra for the last two seasons, but who bizarrely agreed a new contract with Crewe before immediately moving to Rugby Park on loan. He's played only 23 minutes since November and doesn't even make the bench under Neil McCann. Kilmarnock lost each of the seven league games he appeared in.

21. JUNIOR ROBINSON (LIVINGSTON)

Robinson couldn't get a game even as defensive injuries piled up for Livingston. After being an unused sub about a million times, he was allowed 14 minutes off the bench at Ibrox...and after that he wasn't even an unused sub very often. Unsurprisingly the diminutive right-back returned to parent club West Ham in January.

20. OLIVER ANTMAN (RANGERS)

Antman has had the odd flash - an impressive debut, as well as a big cameo as a sub at Falkirk recently - but one expects a lot more for £3.5million. The Finnish winger has so far failed to show any consistency and hasn't started a league game since the end of November.

19. HAYATO INAMURA (CELTIC)

Brendan Rodgers called Inamura "a club signing", which is code for "I didn't want him". Rodgers explained rather damningly that the defender was left out of the Champions League squad because "we also need a player that can defend". Inamura returned to Japan on loan in January and chances are that the sole Celtic appearance he made against Livingston will be his only one for the club.

18. TREY OGUNSUYI (FALKIRK)

There were high hopes for the Belgian U19 international when he arrived on loan from Sunderland. However, one Falkirk fan on the BBC website described him as "never looked interested, didn't run, couldn't score and the stadium let out an audible groan when he came on". He returned south in January having started only two games and has spent the second half of the season at Shrewsbury Town where he has hit the net a couple of times.

17. NICOLAS MILANOVIC (ABERDEEN)

At the time of writing, Milanovic hasn't played in the league since January, even before Stephen Robinson took over at Aberdeen. And now his chances of minutes have reduced further. “He’s probably been a little bit unfortunate with the system, when we’ve gone 3-5-2 or 3-4-3,” said Robinson recently. Which is a problem, given Robinson pretty much always plays either system and Milanovic is a winger that the Dons spunked four hundred grand on. That said, the Australian failed to impress in the first half of the season even in a formation which seemed perfect for his strengths. By January he was being linked with a loan return down under, and regardless of the manager or tactics going forward it's hard to see him succeeding in the North East.

16. ALEX TAMM (LIVINGSTON)

A big powerful international striker? Sounds good. Five sub appearances, no goals (even by his teammates while he is on the pitch)? Not so good. Livingston's January signing has played more minutes in the last three months for Estonia than he has for his club, where he isn't even making the bench.

15. MALIK DIJKSTEEL (ST. MIRREN)

St. Mirren originally agreed a pre-contract with Dijksteel last summer, and then Dijksteel refused to play for "personal reasons" until Cork City agreed to let him move to Scotland immediately, with St. Mirren paying a fee. It hasn't been worth it; Dijksteel hasn't been trusted to start a game, and in fact the only match they've won in which he was involved (and scored a goal while he was on the pitch) was an extra time cup win at Championship side Airdrie. He's also been out injured since February.

14. JAHMAI SIMPSON-PUSEY (CELTIC)

Even as Celtic's injuries in defence (and goals against) piled up, Simpson-Pusey went months on end without even making the bench. He made as many appearances for the B team in the Challenge Cup (where he was part of a team that lost five goals at East Fife) as he did for the first team, though that one game against Kilmarnock yielded a clean sheet. His loan from Manchester City was essentially a waste of everyone's time and he moved on to Koln in the Bundesliga in January where he has got rather more game time.

13. NIKOLAJ MOLLER (DUNDEE UNITED)

It's hard to be an effective target man striker with "a head like a 50p piece" as one United fan described him to me on Twitter. Moller's only goal in Scotland was in a cup tie against Ayr, but the club remarkably managed to get a six figure transfer fee for the Swede in February.

12. SHIN YAMADA (CELTIC)

Celtic can't afford to spend £1.5million on a striker who is so much of a project that he's only fourth-choice up front when he arrives. Yamada was trusted to start only one game and was shipped out on loan to the German second division in January, where he has managed only a single goal so far. He is still under contract for another three years.

11. YEVHENII KUCHERENKO (DUNDEE UNITED)

I don't remember Kucherenko being calamitous from the word go, but his form deteriorated in the autumn and he was dropped after an epic stinker at home to Falkirk where he gifted Calvin Miller a goal after failing to hold a weak shot and then punched a corner into his own net whilst under no pressure. Somehow United got a fee for him in January, and he subsequently moaned to journalists that all his problems were because Scottish referees let him be fouled all the time...

The top ten will come next week...

Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly.