Craig P Stewart's review of League 1 so far

Rangers have been more impressive in League 1 than they were when they won Division 3 last season. 15 wins in a row were scored and 59 goals scored before Stranraer secured a 1-1 draw at Ibrox on Boxing Day.

A second Championship should be secured long before the end of the season as Ally McCoist’s mixture of young talent and seasoned professionals like Cammy Bell and Jon Daly continue to dominate this Division.

A good response to dropping the points to Stranraer has just been seen with wins at Dunfermline and Airdrie without the loss of a goal.

Key man - Jon Daly - The former Dundee United striker has been a leading light for Rangers where he has scored goal after goal. Daly has turned himself into a hero at Ibrox quickly and he is on target for 30 goals this season and a League 1 winners’ medal.

High – An 8-0 win over Stenhousemuir at the end of September emphasised the Ibrox side’s determination to win this season’s League 1 with Daly scoring 4 times. Beating Falkirk 2-0 away in the William Hill Scottish Cup was also a significant result in this season for the Light Blues as was reaching the final of the Ramsdens Cup for the first ever time where they will play Raith Rovers come April.

Low – The 2-1 Scottish League Cup defeat against Forfar at Station Park. The result brought back memories of painful away trips in Division 3 last season however there has been no repeat since that August day.

A time of progress on and off the park for the Pars. Jim Jefferies’ young squad did have the advantage of full time training however they are a very inexperienced bunch.

They have not been out of the top four all season and look a good bet for a play-off place already. Jefferies has drilled resilience into his young squad and they have dug out points this season in difficult situations such as being a goal down to Forfar in injury time and 2 goals down at Ayr and 3 goals down at Stenhousemuir.

Key man – Josh Falkingham – The midfielder who came to Scotland after starting his career at Leeds United did not make his mark at St Johnstone but blossomed at Arbroath and is now starring for the Pars. A tenacious player with an eye for goal who leads his players through example on the pitch and Dunfermline will be hoping his broken hand injury does not keep him out too long.

High – Two significant wins over Ayr United in December. One win guaranteed an away tie at Ibrox in the next round of the William Hill Scottish Cup with the revenue extremely welcome after the club exited administration recently.

The second came after they fell two goals behind at Somerset Park and the East End Park side ended up winning 4-2.

Low – Two defeats in a row in October. Firstly Forfar ran over the top of Dunfermline to win 4-0 at Station Park and then a Fife derby with East Fife was lost late on 2-1.

The surprise package of League 1 who have enjoyed a terrific three month spell where they have only tasted defeat once. The Blues have one of the lowest, if not the lowest, budget in the league however they sit third through playing good attacking football. Manager Stephen Aitken is a rising star and his shrewd captures over the summer of Mark Docherty, Jamie Longworth, Martin Grehan and Andy Stirling have helped raise the quality at Stair Park.

Stranraer defeated Ross County and gave Hibs a fright in the Scottish League Cup as well as being the first side to take something from Rangers in the League when they drew 1-1 at Ibrox on Boxing Day.

Key man – Jamie Longworth – Aitken took a chance on the striker after a disappointing last season at Queen’s Park. He has been repaid by goal after goal as Longworth showed that he is a confidence player. If Longworth keeps scoring, Stranraer can make the play-offs.

High – The Scottish League Cup campaign, drawing with Rangers, Frank McKeown plays after his involvement as a firefighter in the Clutha Bar tragedy, and Stephen Aitken getting two Manager of the Month awards in a row. Also a 6-3 away win at Ayr – you choose!

Low – A 3-2 defeat at Airdrie on September 14 that left Stranraer bottom of the table.

After changing things around in the summer, the Honest Men are much improved this season with a play-off chase on after an insipid attempt last year. The Somerset Park side can score goals however they can lose them as well.

Mark Roberts’ men seem to win a few, lose a few and draw a few but if they can turn defeats into draws and draws into wins they will be involved in the end of season scramble.

They have a huge game coming up this weekend where they are away to Stranraer and Ayr have the chance to make up for November’s 6-3 defeat.

Key man – Michael Moffat – Another grabber of goals who has risen from the Junior ranks. Stranraer’s Longworth was at Kilbirnie Ladeside before he was at Queen’s Park and Moffat was with Girvan before he went to Ayr.

Moffat is a big strong striker who has now scored over 50 goals for Ayr in less than 3 years.

High – climbing above Stenhousemuir in the table when Ayr came from 3-2 behind to win 4.3. The game showed the good and the bad of Roberts’ side with the good triumphing on that occasion.

Low – The 6-3 defeat from Stranraer and games against Dunfermline. The Pars have defeated Ayr 5-1 after coming from a goal down and 4-2 after coming from two goals down.

They also knocked Ayr out of the William hill Scottish Cup in a replay to secure a tie against Rangers at Ibrox in February.

Stenhousemuir are another side that knows how to score goals and how to concede them as well. The Warriors were a top four side until November, however they have slipped down to fifth after defeats from Ayr and East Fife.

Injuries have hindered Martyn Corrigan’s squad this season however they need to win more often at Ochilview to be serious contenders for promotion.

Key man – John Gemmell – The big striker is a fans favourite who poses a threat through his physical presence and explosive shot. Goals have dried up recently and he needs to be scoring for Stenhousemuir to be at their best.

High – Two wins in a row to open the season without the loss of a gaol. 1-0 successes against Stranraer and Airdrie got their League 1 campaign off and running.

Low – Game 3 of the season and also playing Rangers. After their two wins Stenhousemuir lost a bizarre game to Dunfermline 5-4 after being 3 goals ahead.

At Ibrox, Stenhousemuir capitulated 8-0 to Rangers and whilst they improved in their next meeting they lost 1-0 to miss out on a place in the Ramsdens Cup Final. Finally flooding caused a live TV game against Ally McCoist’s side to be called off before a ball was kicked in early December.

Forfar made a slow start to the season in the league with only one win in their first seven League 1 games and that run left the Loons at the foot of the table.

A 4-0 win over Dunfermline finally got Dick Campbell’s side going and 3 wins and a draw in October and November have seen the Loons move to the fringes of a the play-off race.

A very experienced squad needs to come up with wins on a more regular basis to get Forfar into the top four.

Key man – Gavin Swankie – the club captain is presently out injured with a hamstring problem and manager Campbell as well as everyone else at Station Park will be hoping for a quick recovery.

Swankie provides craft to the Forfar attack as well as linking up well with the more physical Chris Templeman to score goals.

High – The 2-1 Scottish League Cup defeat of Rangers in early August when Swankie hit a double was a fine day however Forfar have not hit those heights since.

Low - A 6-1 defeat at Ibrox to a free flowing Rangers side on a night that manager Campbell described as ‘horrible’.

East Fife are the great unpredictable of League 1 and they have already changed manager with former Scotland player Gary Naysmith coming in to replace Willie Aitchision after ambitious moves during the summer were not reflected in results.

The Fifers had slipped to bottom place in October after a 4-1 home defeat from Ayr, however a win at Dunfermline a week later moved them off bottom spot. Two wins and five defeats later they remain in eighth place with Naysmith recording two wins and two defeats in his time in charge.

Key man - Liam Buchanan – the striker should be scoring for fun in this league however it has not really happened for him. East Fife will be looking for him to grab the goals that will ensure that relegation is not an issue for them in 2014.

High – going to East End Park and winning 2-1 kept an unbeaten league record of their Fife rivals that started in 1978 going. Even better for East Fife is that the win came from being a goal behind with only 15 minutes remaining. Also the 1-0 win over Stenhousemuir and the 3-1 success over Airdrie that helped secure East Fife 6 points out of 6 in December and Gary Naysmith the manager’s job.

Low – playing Forfar. The Loons have knocked the Fifers out of the Ramsdens Cup and the William Hill Scottish Cup this season as well as beating them twice in the league having scored 9 times for the loss of 3.

The sides meet again at the end of January and Naysmith will be hoping for better fortune than Aitchison experienced against Dick Campbell’s side.

Probably the side that have under-delivered the most this season in League 1. Manager Ray McKinnon had a terrific start to life at Glebe Park when he came in just over 12 months ago however it has not been built on this season.

Only one win in 12 games saw Brechin end up in ninth place however recent results have picked up.

Brechin can still make the play-offs if McKinnon can get his men to replicate the form they showed when he first came on board.

Key man – Alan Trouten – the goal grabbing midfielder has found the net 10 times for Brechin this season. Trouten has taken the pressure off strikers Andy Jackson and Ryan Donnelly who should be producing more goals.

He missed a penalty against Stenhousemuir on Saturday in a 1-0 defeat but he will bounce back.

High – December wins over Airdrie, where Trouten struck the winner in a 4-3 success after a 3 goal lead was blown, and East Fife where a 3-1 success at Bayview was secured.

Low – The William Hill Scottish Cup defeat from Angus neighbours Forfar on penalties. Brechin led four times over the two games and could not see things out.

The New Year game with Forfar was another low as Brechin went down 5-1.

The Gayfield side are having a difficult time of things at the moment having gone nine games without a win in League 1. A 3-0 win over Forfar at the end of September looked to have shown signs that Paul Sheerin’s squad were knitting together however they have continued to struggle.

Sheerin’s side have always been able to score their way out of trouble in the past however their lack of firepower this season must be worrying the only manager to win silverware for the club.

Lee Erwin has returned to Motherwell and Steven Milne has joined the police with Sheerin pinning his hopes on Steven Doris who has returned from Dundee on loan although he has been missing recently due to a knock.

Key man – Ross Chisholm – The former Hibs midfielder has to ensure that he is a strong skipper on the park. He needs to drive his men forward but also ensure that they tighten up at the back.

Chisholm has a real leadership role to carry out in 2014 to ensure Arbroath remain in this league.

High – the 3-2 away win at Dunfermline back in August. It remains the Red Lichties only away success this season and more performances like that one are required from Sheerin and his squad.

Low – The present run of 9 games without a win that includes last Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Airdrie. Arbroath were leading at half time however they were 2-1 down with just less than the half hour to play.

There was no conviction shown in that last half hour that a goal would come and that was a worry for Sheerin.

On paper it looked like Airdrie had assembled a squad that would more that hold its own this season, however on grass and artificial grass it has simply not happened with only 3 wins and 3 draws being achieved.

The Diamonds went bottom in October and have stayed there, however Gary Bollan was appointed in November and there are encouraging signs that the former Livi boss is making progress.

Key man – Jim Lister – a stand out for Dumbarton in the First Division last season, striker Lister was expected to do the same for Airdrie.

His Diamonds career simply never got going under Jimmy Boyle and he will be hoping that Bollan can get him back to his best. He could grab 10 goals between now and the end of the season if Airdrie build up confidence.

High – the 3-2 win over Stranraer in September ended 13 months without a home success for Airdrie. It has been followed by wins over Brechin and Arbroath already. More wins, home and away, will be needed if survival is to happen.

Low – A seven game losing run looked set to end at Brechin as Airdrie battled back from 3 goals down to tie the score 3-3 in injury time. However within 40 seconds they had lost another goal to go down 4-3 and suffer an eighth consecutive loss.