2026/27 Scottish Premiership preview

 The hopes of a new dawn where more than two clubs could win the Scottish League faded by the end of May, as first Lawrence Shankland and then Derek McInnes hot-footed it to Ibrox. For all Tony Bloom's Jamestown witchcraft, it feels like last season was an altogether rare alignment of the planets, as the Old Firm both went through spectacular crises in the same campaign, whilst other clubs spectacularly raised their game.

I'm not totally convinced there isn't another predicament coming for CELTIC who should be a team in transition but actually seem increasingly like the 'This is fine' meme in football club form. The signings of Kasper Høgh (look at the effort I'm going to here, I even bothered with the 'ø') and Camilo Duran alleviate this a bit but it's very possible that August will bring significant bids for players like Alistair Johnston, Arne Engels and Benjamin Nygren, and would you trust the club to adequately replace them, given all the guff they've been spouting about dealing with agents? Moreover, I'm just not confident that guys like Viljami Sinisalo and Yang Hjun-jun are really quite at the level you would expect for a team that aspires to playing in the Champions League Group Stage. If Høgh (that ø again!) scores enough to justify that price tag - and by 'enough' I mean 'a hell of a lot' - that might paper over the cracks sufficiently. But it's a bold strategy, Cotton.

RANGERS at least appear to have a plan. You know that you will get a high floor with Derek McInnes; now is the chance he has been looking for to prove his ceiling isn't terribly limited. Shankland and Youssouf Chermiti should score plenty between them, providing someone (hopefully Findlay Curtis, from a Scotland point of view) can provide the creativity that Mikey Moore delivered last year. I like Ross McCrorie as a no-nonsense option at right-back and Ivor Pandur as an upgrade in goal. Whisper it, but I think they are going to win the league this year, especially if they can get in another good wide player.

It's not outrageous to suggest HEARTS will go backwards, but the question is whether it'll be a small step while new boss Wouter Vrancken finds his feet, or whether it'll be a collapse, which is entirely possible if players acquired from the French Third Division and the English National League turn out to be only up to scratch in a computer database. I have more confidence than that but the exits of Shankland, Cammy Devlin and Alexander Schwolow and the long-term injury to Craig Halkett have ripped the spine out of the Jambos. Defender Malachi Fagan-Walcott and midfielder Sabri Guendouz cost a lot of money and Hearts simply can't afford them to be as disappointing as record signing Ageu (still injured!) was last season. If (when?) good offers come in for Claudio Braga and Alexandros Kyziridis and then a team lacking last season's stars begins to struggle I can't help feeling the fans will get on Vrancken's back quickly.

MOTHERWELL are a more curious case. They clearly anticipated Jens Berthel Askou's departure and have dipped back into the 'European coach with interesting ideas' well, to pluck out Alfred Johansson. I was pretty anxious for them after they sold Elijah Just and Elliott Watt but the early signs are promising. I particularly fancy left-back Dylan Williams, though I'm not sure how he and Emmanuel Longelo will fit in the same team. A lot depends on whether Tawanda Maswanhise can repeat his incredible 2025/26 campaign, or whether the Steelmen can rustle up a replacement if he moves on too. I'm excited to see if Alex Lowry (Wycombe) can finally fulfil the potential he displayed as a Rangers youth, and the sudden emergence of young Mikey Booth is worth watching too. I'd expect a few more new faces before the end of the month which should get them to where they want to be.

It kind of feels like HIBERNIAN are in a bit of a rut, where they are neither making tangible progress under David Gray nor doing badly enough that they can justify punting him. Maybe they'll just finish fifth for the rest of eternity. The lack of flexibility in their 'three at the back, get the wingbacks to cross early' tactics doesn't help, but that's all the squad is designed for. They really need Owen Elding or new signing Nathan Lowe (whose comments about being the Premiership's top scorer definitely won't come back to haunt him) to step up like Kieron Bowie did. A fit Josh Mulligan will help a lot, and hopefully so will the addition of Josh Kerr to the defence. But it's all just a bit 'meh'. 

ABERDEEN weren't even close to reaching 'meh' levels last season but their budget means that it would be a catastrophe if they were stuck in the bottom half again. I'm still not sold on Stephen Robinson as the answer to their problems, though his move to a back four and willingness to play wingers is reassuring given his rigidity at St. Mirren. Connor Ronan looks like a cracking signing as a playmaker and enormous centre-back Dan Happe should really help them in both boxes. Most crucially, Kevin Nisbet appears to be back in form. Still, this looks mostly like a functional team rather than a great one, though in turn that is a huge upgrade from last time out. I previously joked on Twitter that their signing policy appears to be two Robinson signings and then one from Director of Football Lutz Pfannenstiel, but there might be an element of truth to that - keeper Marius Muller and midfielder Alexander Briedl have clearly been rustled up by the latter.

FALKIRK were a top half team last season but now comes the difficult second album. The departures of Barney Stewart, Calvin Miller and Dylan Tait will be hard to overcome; John McGlynn seems to be focusing on bringing youngsters with high upside for attacking areas, such as Ethan Laidlaw (Brentford) and Joe Gardner (Nottingham Forest) and adding experience to the backline with Ryan Strain (Dundee United), Scott Tanser (St. Mirren) and Jack McMillan (Exeter). I'm suspicious that the momentum that they carried over from promotion might have finally petered out. McGlynn also doesn't appear to have solved their big weakness, which was defending their own box. If the goals do dry up without Stewart leading the line I'm not convinced they can grind out one-nil wins.

it feels like DUNDEE UNITED have tried to rip it up and start again for the second consecutive summer. They didn't exercise options on any of the four loan players they could have chosen to keep and couldn't permanently sign the two who shone, Amar Fatah and Luca Stephenson. Hopefully Jack Walton (Preston) will solve their goalkeeper woes on his return to the club, while Michael Forbes (West Ham) looks like a talented young defender. Jim Goodwin has gone full Antipodean in attack, adding Jesse Randall and Lachlan Rose as potential partners for Zack Sapsford. If they can get to the end of the window without losing the excellent left-back Will Ferry then they will be good candidates for a return to the top six. Playing on a pitch that doesn't look like the Somme in 1916 might help their prospects too.

Their city rivals DUNDEE might have more moderate aspirations, even though the appointment of Steven Pressley worked out far better than anyone expected. They sold Luke Graham and Billy Koumetio for good money but now have gaps to plug in defence; if Owen Bevan (Bournemouth) can stay fit he should fill one of those positions more than adequately. They will also miss loan wingers Cameron Congreve and Tony Yogane, though Alan Forrest (Hearts) will take one of those spots. Owen Goodman (on loan from Crystal Palace) replaces Jon McCracken (Bradford) in goal. They still feel a few players short and I'd expect them to attack the loan market again in the next few weeks. Pressley, who looks more like Isa from Still Game by the month, is working hard to reduce expectations though.

KILMARNOCK improved exponentially under Neil McCann, not least because of the goals that Joe Hugill and Tyreece John-Jules provided. The trick will be fitting them both in the team and creating chances for them now that Findlay Curtis is back at Rangers. Tom Lowery and Aaron Tshibola became a strong midfield combination and hopefully they will provide a platform for the club's latest Ibrox loanee, Bailey Rice. Michael Schjonning-Larsen will be fun to watch bombing forward from left-back and if new wide players Erik Ring and Roshaun Mathurin are up to it then Killie could really push on. At the end of last season I had high hopes for them but they will really miss Curtis and I don't think they have a centre-back they can totally rely on; I'm biased towards Robbie Deas because he used to play for ICT but the other options aren't terrific.

ST. MIRREN chose to keep Craig McLeish in charge after a fairly underwhelming interim spell and he is determined to change them from a direct outfit to a possession one. There are already reasons for concern though. The defence looks uncomfortable playing out from the back and is already weaker for the sale of Miguel Freckleton (LASK Linz). Right-back looks a particularly weak area, with Marcus Fraser not suited to the role and Jayden Richardson simply not good enough, while on the other flank Declan John's long-term injury means that a lot is required from newbie Henry Fieldson (Queen's Park). In midfield the new system doesn't really suit the all-action Killian Phillips, and up front a lot is required of youngster Eseosa Sule (West Bromwich Albion) who is an excellent prospect and far from the finished product. With Jonah Ayunga injured, Mikael Mandron away and Jake Young unwanted there are not a lot of alternatives. To be honest, this all feels like 2014 when they replaced Danny Lennon with Tommy Craig, and that did not go well...

And finally ST. JOHNSTONE return after a year in the Championship where they seemed to find themselves again under the hugely popular Simo Valakari. Making the step up will be a lot harder for the loss of Josh McPake (Hearts) who was their talisman last season, and goals might be hard to come by unless Josh Fowler or Ruari Paton can raise their game. I'm nervous about whether they will be able to play out from the back as well as they did last season or whether they will be caught out by high-pressing opponents. Of their new signings I am a big fan of winger Logan Chalmers (Partick) who I think could be a real success. I think they will struggle, and although Simo has a lot of credit in the bank I wonder whether their style can achieve results with the relative lack of quality they have.

So here's the inevitably wrong predicted table:

1. RANGERS

2. CELTIC

3. MOTHERWELL

4. HEARTS

5. HIBERNIAN

6. ABERDEEN

7. DUNDEE UNITED

8. KILMARNOCK

9. DUNDEE

10. FALKIRK

11. ST. JOHNSTONE

12 ST. MIRREN

Don't forget to bookmark this so you can remind me how wrong I was about your team!

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 Championship preview

The Championship has been quite fun for the last couple of seasons. That stops now, since I now have a stake in it again.

As the team demoted from the top flight, it makes sense to assume LIVINGSTON are going to be favourites, but I'm not sure they are as strong as St. Johnstone were last season. To be fair, a lot depends on whether Glenn Whelan proves a good appointment in the dugout. They're certainly not short on depth - they have a first team squad of twenty-eight at the time of writing. I certainly think Liam Polworth (Kilmarnock) will shine at this level if they become more possession-orientated, while Robbie Muirhead should emulate his 2024/25 goalscoring exploits in this division. All Whelan needs to do to succeed is work out his best eleven and get them playing as well as they should. It sounds so easy when you put it like that...

PARTICK THISTLE ran St Johnstone close in the league and then gave St Mirren a scare in the playoffs so they will expect to be there or thereabouts again. Logan Chalmers (St Johnstone) are big losses that they have hopefully offset by bringing in Euan Henderson (Airdrie), while they did well to convince Ethan Ingram and Oisin Smyth to make their loan moves permanent and even better to sign up Ben Stanway for anothrt year. I've heard great things about their new keeper Liam MacFarlane (on loan from Hearts). They are in decent shape, although neither of their striking options, Alex Samuel and Tony Watt, contribute huge volumes of goals to go with their work-rate (Samuel) and cleverness (Watt).

I would make DUNFERMLINE ATHLETIC the other team who I could see winning the Championship this season. Neil Lennon's side lacked consistency in the league last year but made the playoffs and the Scottish Cup Final to boot; they have strengthened in defence by signing Aston Oxborough permanently after a good loan spell and acquiring Sam Cleall-Harding (on loan from Dundee United) and up front by adding the highly sought-after Oli Shaw (Hamilton Accies). They did lose talented defenders Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen (Wigan) and Kieran Ngwenya but with young players like the Tod brothers getting better all the time, the only thing that might hold them back is a lack of experience with only player-coach Kyle Benedictus and Chris Kane over the age of 28.

ARBROATH also made the promotion playoffs last season, having surprised everyone with a third place finish. I fear this might be the part-timers' ceiling, as when Dick Campbell guided them to the brink of the Premiership a few years back. They have lost three of their best players from last year in Jack Wilkie (Livingston), Harry Cochrane (Morton) and most crucially Findlay Marshall (returned to Aberdeen). Newbies Stuart Morrison (Forfar) and Brody Paterson (Kelty) will need to make a big step up and their attacking options are all hard-working players who don't score many goals. If Marshall were to come back for another year they would be an entirely different prospect though.

They may have finished fifth last time out but RAITH ROVERS never seriously looked like taking a playoff spot and seemed to be struggling for an identity after appointing Dougie Imrie mid-season. This is Imrie's first chance to really put his stamp on the team and bringing in two big forwards in Anton Dowds and George Oakley (both Ayr) tells you which direction he wants to go. Dylan Easton and League Two Player of the Year John Robertson (East Kilbride) will be the main sources of creativity. The defence - 36 year old Paul Hanlon aside - still looks a bit lacking; Ross Millen somehow parlayed a poor campaign with Inverness into a move back to Kirkcaldy while Zak Delaney is an Imrie stalwart from Morton.

Imrie's former club are in what could be charitably called a mess. GREENOCK MORTON nearly sleepwalked to relegation last season but chose to stick by Imrie's successor Ian Murray; given the club are lacking in funds and struggling to put a squad together Murray could be forgiven for wishing they'd sacked him. Manchester United loan keeper Elyh Harrison is highly rated and Callum Sandilands (on loan from Hearts) impressed at Morton last season, but using some of the budget on the perenially injured Grant Savoury (Queen's Park) was foolish, especially when the almost equally fragile Eamonn Brophy is still on the books. Morton look really weak at the back and no more than functional elsewhere; they badly need reinforcements but it's not clear where the money for that will come from.

There's more reason for optimism at AYR UNITED who are hoping Gary Naysmith will put out a far more successful and watchable team than Scott Brown did. Naysmith performed miracles at Stenhousemuir and has gone back to League One to get three of the best players from that division in Reece Lyon (QOS), Ross Taylor (Stenny) and Kieran Shanks (Peterhead). The biggest coup is the permanent signing of Leon King who was expected to end up at a higher level after he left Rangers. If Shanks or Owen Stirton (on loan from Dundee United) can lead the line effectively then they should have a bash at the top four, but they are both unproven at this level.

Sean Crighton worked wonders at QUEEN'S PARK last season with a squad of youths and jobbers. A co-op deal with Rangers has landed them three highly-rated players in midfielder Aiden McCallion and wingers Lewis Stewart (brilliant at Alloa last year) and the wonderfully named Zebedee Lawson. Jack Hamilton is a useful addition to a forward line that should be adequate if Michael Ruth can stay fit. The Spiders did lose excellent left-back Henry Fieldson (St Mirren) and I'm not sure either Jack Wills or David Mitchell (Ayr) will adequately replace Calum Ferrie (Kilmarnock) in goal, but it would be a surprise if they ended up in any danger.

After winning League One, INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE fans took note of how Falkirk recently managed back-to-back promotions but the reality is that Scott Kellacher's side aren't at that level. That's not to say that they can't spring a surprise, especially after Graeme Shinnie's return to the club after eleven years away and the deals to bring back Alfie Stewart and Alfie Bavidge from Aberdeen for yet another loan spell. If they and other young players like Calum MacLeod can continue to develop then ICT will be in a good place. But at times it seemed like Kellacher wasn't sure of what his best lineup was and if he chops and changes a lot again it may hold them back.

And finally, STENHOUSEMUIR play in the second tier for the first time since the professional ranks have had more than two tiers. The major reason for that success was manager Naysmith, and it will be a hard act for Marvin Bartley (previously of a poor spell at Queen of the South and a brief mediocre one at Livingston last season) to follow. With their best attacker Ross Taylor having followed Naysmith to Ayr it is hard to see where their threat will come from with only journeymen Matty Aitken and Dale Carrick to choose from up top. Most of their signings come under the 'young and unproven' bracket, and Bartley will need to hit the jackpot with several of them. Stenny were always really hard to beat under Naysmith and they will need more of that if they are to overcome the odds and stay up.

The inevitably wrong predicted table looks like this:

1. PARTICK THISTLE

2. DUNFERMLINE ATHLETIC

3. LIVINGSTON

4. AYR UNITED

5. INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE

6. QUEEN'S PARK

7. RAITH ROVERS

8. ARBROATH

9. STENHOUSEMUIR

10. GREENOCK MORTON

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 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.

2025/26 Scottish Premiership preview

Before we get on to anything else, I'd like to point out that I got huge stick last season for predicting Dundee would come tenth. Just saying, like. What do you mean, even a stopped clock is right twice a day? Anyway...

In recent years, my Premiership season preview has tended to follow a pattern: first we have The Cheeks Of The Glasgow a***, then we look at the three clubs whose budgets should -but often don't - put them comfortably clear of the rest, and then the other seven who could all potentially charge into the top six, and who could also potentially slump into a relegation battle.

So starting at the top, the question is whether the fact that RANGERS now appear to have some sort of plan going forward might actually lead to a title challenge. I'm the sort of football hipster who likes what Russell Martin wants to do with his team and the passing out from the back should help to break down the low blocks they'll face most weeks. I'm also impressed by their use of the loan market, getting in good short-term defensive fixes in Nasser Djiga and Max Aarons as well as exciting young Spurs winger Mikey Moore. But they're going forward with the same, er, forwards as last season (though Hamza Igamane looks offski) and I think they need to find a real gem in that area if they are to overhaul their rivals.

The gap to CELTIC should be smaller this season though, even if Brendan Rodgers does finally get to spend some of the hundred trillion dollars or so that the club are choosing to hide away for a rainy day that never comes. The main concern is out wide where Nicolas Kuhn has been sold and Jota is out long term. If new boy Benjamin Nygren is to play in midfield that actually seems to leave them a bit overloaded in that area  - one of Nygren, Reo Hatate and Arne Engels would have to be on the bench every week - but they look so much stronger defensively than Rangers and if Kieran Tierney stays fit then they have upgraded from Greg Taylor at left-back. I do expect a title race this year, but I also still expect Celtic will win it.

There is of course no way that anyone else will be in the top two - whatever Tony Bloom claims about his investment at Tynecastle - but the next three places should be ABERDEEN, HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN and HIBERNIAN in some order. Of course in reality at least one of the trio will probably have a shocker - last year it was the Jambos, though Aberdeen's lousy form in the second half of the season (the Cup win excepting) and the added pressures of European football make them the most likely to have a mare this time around. New signings Nicolas Milanovic and Adil Aouchiche should boost the midfield and getting Alfie Dorrington back for another loan looks like a smart move; however they look weak up front with Pape Habib Gueye. Kevin Nisbet and Oday Dabbagh gone, and none of them were actually that brilliant in the first place. One feels they really need a splash move in that area.

In contrast, Hibs were tremendous in the first half of 2025 and have spunked a million quid on Togo forward Thibault Klidje as they look to keep the momentum going. There are high hopes that this could be a breakout season for striker Kieron Bowie, while Jamie McGrath and Josh Mulligan will fit in well to a midfield that already has plenty of good options. This squad looks well built for exactly what manager David Gray wants to do - no mean feat given he's only been in the job a year - and they should absolutely fancy their chances of another third place finish.

Expectations are also high on the other side of Edinburgh, what with Bloom's involvement and the arrival in the dugout of Derek McInnes. This should give Hearts a higher floor, and signings like Stuart Findlay and Claudio Braga, along with the retention of Lawrence Shankland, should certainly make them candidates for the final podium place. However it is simply not realistic to think they can do any more than that without a much bigger splurge in the transfer market - and at the moment the priority is to trim a squad that looks a bit bloated.

As for the other seven, you could maybe pick a name out of a hat for who will grab a top six spot. DUNDEE UNITED would seem to be the obvious choice following their fourth place finish but Jim Goodwin has moved on a lot of the squad that won promotion in 2023/24 and brought in eleven new players, none of whom are Scottish or have experience of Scottish football. There's certainly a chance they will take time to gel, and it's not entirely impossible it will all go badly wrong. A decent chunk of their recent success was down to loan striker Sam Dalby, and new attackers Zac Sapsford and Max Watters have a big hole to fill there.

ST. MIRREN also look like a good bet simply because they managed it last time out. Stephen Robinson has lost some important players in Zach Hemming, Ryan Alebiosu, Richard Taylor, Caolan Boyd-Munce and Toyosi Olusanya but has been very busy with nine new signings plus permanent deals for Killian Phillips and Roland Idowu. Jamaican duo Richard King and Jalmaro Calvin look like low-risk, high-reward acquisitions and there are high hopes for Dutch winger Malik Dijksteel. The worry is that Jonah Ayunga and Mikael Mandron don't offer enough goals up top.

MOTHERWELL feel like an unknown quantity under new boss Jens Berthel Askou, and he inherited a squad that had so many loan players last season that a high turnover was inevitable. They have spent a decent fee (by their standards) on winger Ibrahim Said and also brought in New Zealand international wideman Elijah Just. Well seem happy that front two Tawanda Maswanise and Apostolos Stamatelopoulos will push on, but it will be interesting to see what they do with the substantial funds incoming from the imminent sale of Lennon Miller.

In contrast, it feels like we know exactly what we'll get from KILMARNOCK now that Stuart Kettlewell is in charge, and that's not necessarily a good thing. Killie were due a refresh and only ten players from last season's first team squad remain (with two of those, Robby McCrorie and Marley Watkins, potentially heading for the exit door). There are ten new signings but is there a lot of quality there? They need new strikers Marcus Dackers and Djenairo Daniels to hit the ground running and Scott Tiffoney to adequately replace Dan Armstrong. They also look short at the back after Corrie Ndaba and Joe Wright left. This could be a tough campaign and Kettlewell had better hope the home support are kinder than the fans at Fir Park were...

Meanwhile, goodness knows what is happening at DUNDEE. Their shambolic defending last season nearly got them a relegation playoff and punting Tony Docherty at the end of it wasn't a crazy move...but replacing him with Steven Pressley was. A rubbish League Cup campaign has left him with very little credit in the bank and a rough start to the league season will put him under huge pressure very quickly. Given that multiple starters have left during the summer this was always going to be a hard ask, and I'm not convinced Simon Murray will score twenty goals in a season again.

Newly promoted sides can often carry momentum into the next campaign, but I don't expect FALKIRK  to do as well as Dundee United did last season. They've mostly stuck with the squad that got them promoted, and I'm not convinced that a lot of these players - who have either played in the lower leagues for years or who have failed to establish themselves in the top flight in the past - will make the step up successfully. There will be a heavy dependence on veterans Scott Arfield and Brian Graham to provide creativity and goals.

In fact, I could see LIVINGSTON fairing better, even though - as I stated above with Dundee United - making a lot of signings comes with risk. Aside from captain Jamie Brandon (who joined Killie) I don't think anyone who left would have impressed in the Premiership, and whilst I'm not sure that Graham Carey and Stevie May have much to offer I think Mo Sylla and Macaulay Tait are particularly great additions. Importantly, it feels like Robbie Muirhead has finally matured into a quality striker and his contribution will be crucial. And at the other end Jerome Prior may well prove to be one of the best keepers in the country.

So here's my (inevitably inaccurate) predicted table:

1. CELTIC

2. RANGERS

3. HIBERNIAN

4. HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN

5. ABERDEEN

6. ST. MIRREN

7. DUNDEE UNITED

8. MOTHERWELL

9. LIVINGSTON

10. KILMARNOCK

11. FALKIRK

12. DUNDEE

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