The representatives of the 30 SFL clubs who attended the opening season event were, as well as posing for the obligatory team picture, asked what their hopes and aspirations were for the season ahead and who they saw as the clubs that would challenge in the top half of the table.
Their responses indicated that a host of clubs can win the First Division, a similar situation in the Second Division and a very strong favourite for the Third.
IRN-BRU SFL THIRD DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP
Annan Athletic: Position last season – 6th in Third Division
New arrivals - Jonathan Blake, Scott Chaplain, Michael Daly, Andrew Donley, Ally Love, Keiran McGachie, David Murray, Graeme Ramage, Steven Swinglehurst, Greig Thorburn
Manager Harry Cairney said: "We had a reasonable start when we defeated Livingston 1-0 but were brought back down to earth against Hamilton last weekend when we lost 2-0. They are both good teams so I suppose I should be quite pleased as we have recruited a lot of new players, most of whom are quite young and are playing on a new artificial pitch.
"I suppose we are a bit of an unknown quantity at the moment and need time to settle. Having a consistent pitch should help us as Galabank was always good in the summer and autumn but became very heavy in the winter. We also have a training base right throughout the winter as well so it is all moving in a positive direction.
"This season I expect Peterhead to be strong from early on. Last season they began slowly and finished strongly and they will definitely be looking for a Play-Off place.
"Rangers will do very well and for the rest of us, I am expecting the same type of competitive season you always get in the Third Division."
Berwick Rangers: Position last season – 7th in Third Division
New arrivals – Phil Addison, Youssef Bejaoui, Dene Droudge, John Ferguson, Damian Gielty, Dean Hoskins, Devon Jacobs, Neil Janczyk, Marc Lancaster, Ian McCaldon, Craig Stevenson
Director Jimmy Crease stated: "With Rangers coming into the Third Division, everyone expects them to win it and I will not offer a different opinion to that.
"There are therefore three places available for the Play-Offs and that has to be the realistic aim for the remaining clubs.
"Berwick have assembled a decent pool and we looked good in our pre-season games. We will take heart from scoring three times against Raith Rovers at their place at the weekend although it was disappointing to lose 4-3.
"We will be on our guard all the same as we have made good starts in the past and then fallen away, so we need to be consistent. Having Rangers in the Third Division is very exciting for the club and the players but anything we take from these games will be a bonus.
"I am enjoying being back as a Director at the club and I am helping out the Chairman who has just had a heart operation with a few bits and pieces behind the scenes. It is Ian Little’s first season in charge alongside Robbie Horn and if they need any advice from me, I am here to help but I am also happy to let them get on with the job of securing a Play-Off place."
Clyde: Position last season – 9th in Third Division
New arrivals - Jamie Barclay, Gary Graham, John Kane, David Marsh, Ryan MacBeth, Stuart McColm, Stefan McCluskey, Nikola Rajovic, Kevin Watt
Manager Jim Duffy commented: "We are looking to improve on our ninth place finish last season and continue with our policy of developing players. Declan Gallacher is now in the SPL after a spell with us, Jordan White is at Falkirk and Liam Cusack is also in the First Division with Cowdenbeath and moves like these emphasise the good job Clyde do in helping players develop.
"It is a season of big change at Broadwood with a new artificial pitch going down and hopefully, we can grace the new pitch with a few wins.
"Rangers will top the table but I think Peterhead will be the most improved team in this division and will get a Play-Off place under Jim McInally. "
East Stirlingshire: Position last season – 10th in Third Division
New arrivals - Mark Begg, David Greenhill, Michael Herd, Craig Hume, Nathan Shepherd, Paul Quinn, Ricky Miller
Assistant Manager, Matt Kerr, said: "We are in much better shape than we were a year ago. We have had a good period of preparation and the Manager has built a team this season as opposed to throwing one together at very short notice.
"Financially, the club is a wee bit better off and I am sure we will do okay although Queen’s Park at home and then Rangers away is a tough start.
"Our home games with Queen’s Park are always tight affairs and although they have lost some players, they are still a good team but if we play like we can, then we will do well.
"Going to Rangers will be a fantastic experience for the players and they will be told to play the game and not the occasion. We will go there and look to do the best we can.
"Rangers will be at the top of the table but there will be a few sides challenging for a Play-Off place with Peterhead and probably Queen’s Park the favourites but if you are looking for a dark horse, have a look at us.
"We were bottom last season and that was a horrible feeling that we do not want to repeat. The best way to avoid repeating that is by winning games and being in the top half of the table."
Elgin City: Position last season – 4th in Third Division losing in Second Division Play-Off Semi-Final
New arrivals – Sean Crighton, John Gibson, Dennis Wyness
Manager Ross Jack commented: "We have to be aiming for a more successful season and that means finishing higher than fourth and having a more successful Play-Off campaign.
"We have made season on season progress in the past three years which shows we are doing something right and we need to keep on doing that.
"Rangers will obviously be up at the top end of the table and will be stick on winners for their games. Ninety nine times out of a hundred, they would expect to beat Third Division teams so hopefully, we will get them on the one hundredth game.
"Queen’s Park and Peterhead will fancy their chances of a Play-Off place but other challengers will emerge and it will be a very tough competition for Play-Off places."
Montrose: Position last season – 8th in Third Division
New arrivals – David Gray, Craig McLeish
Chairman Derek Sim stated: "As a club, we have started the season well with victories in The Ramsdens Cup and The Scottish Communities League Cup and we are very pleased with that.
"We have a good squad having re-signed 11 of last season's team and the Manager, Stuart Garden, has added to that number with a couple of talented midfielders and hopefully, he can get another couple more on board.
"We have the nucleus of a team that can challenge for the Play-Offs. I would like to say that we could challenge for the title but we would have a real fight on our hands for that with Rangers in the Third Division.
"If we play like we have in the last couple of games and keep showing the great spirit and camaraderie there has been, I see no reason why we can’t challenge in the top half."
Peterhead: Position last season – 5th in Third Division
New arrivals – Dean Cowie, Darren Kelly, Stephen Maguire, Marc McCallum, Scott McLaughlin, Steven Noble, Ross Smith
Manager Jim McInally commented: "The Play-Offs is an improvement on last season and that has to be the aim for Peterhead. The ‘Dream Ticket’ for everyone in the division now is to get promoted with Rangers as that would be a great achievement as you would have the benefit of bigger crowds again in the Third Division.
"It was shaping up as a very open division, in fact, the most open of in the SFL until Rangers joined. It is disappointing that this will not happen now so finishing second becomes the aim we are all realistically aiming for.
"A good start in the first quarter of games is important. We have had East Fife in The Ramsdens Cup, then Dundee in The Scottish Communities League Cup and now Rangers, so it is a tough start.
"I was starting the season looking for positives from the guys, looking for confirmation that we could compete at a higher level. We did that against East Fife and certainly did it against Dundee when we were unlucky not to win the game.
"We have to take that into the Rangers game this weekend although anything from our four games against them is a bonus. Weeks two to nine will shape our season. We took confidence from a good performance in our Scottish Cup game against Celtic at the start of the year and hopefully, we can do that from this one as well.
"I don’t expect Rangers to be top of the table, I know Rangers will be at the top of the table."
Queen's Park: Position last season – 2nd in Third Division losing in Second Division Play-Off Semi-Final
New arrivals – Adam Monaghan, Michael Keenan
Head Coach Gardner Speirs said: "Our hopes are the same as every recent season and that is to try and get promoted. We have gone from fourth place to third place to second in our last three seasons so keeping that going and making it to first would be nice, but it is a big ask.
"We have to start well which is something we do not usually do but I want us to hit a high consistency level early and stay there.
"We have lost five first team players and brought four up from our Under-19s and one from Under-17s as that is the way we do things at this club.
"What we do not produce we bring in so Adam Monaghan and Michael Keenan have joined us and perhaps. I will get a couple more in.
"A lot of our squad have been together for a couple of years now and are established Third Division players with good experience and I am sure over the course of the season, that will help us.
"I am looking forward to the challenge but we have a very tough opening fixture at East Stirling who will be out to improve on last season and judging by the players they have brought in, I think they will.
"We would love to get that first spot but realistically, I would suggest that Rangers are incredibly hot favourites for the Third Division."
Rangers: Admitted as members of The Scottish Football League on 13th July, 2012
New arrivals – Ian Black, Emilson Cribari, Kevin Kyle, Francisco Sandaza, Dean Shiels
First Team Coach, Ian Durrant, commented: "Our aim has to be to go out and win the Third Division. We set our stall out at the start of every competition we go into to win it and this one is no different.
"It is a new adventure for us in the Third Division and we are looking forward to it, it will certainly be interesting.
"We know a good bit about Jim McInally’s Peterhead and how he sets his team out. We have had a few of the teams watched now and it will be a hard season against competitive teams.
"We were a SPL team and now we are a Third Division one and we will need to earn the respect of everyone in that division.
"We will see parts of Scotland we have not seen in a while but we will go there with a spirit of adventure. I have been to all of the grounds before but have not played in them all but it will be good for everyone to get playing again regularly.
"Teams will challenge us I am sure of that. Peterhead were good against Celtic in the Scottish Cup, Montrose had a great result at the weekend by defeating First Division Cowdenbeath and Gardner Speirs is doing a good job at Queen’s Park so there will be lots of difficult games.
"The first half of the season will be really interesting as we play each other home and away for the first time and we will certainly do our homework.
"I can assure everyone it will not just be a case of Rangers turning up, we will be well prepared and out to earn the respect of our opponents."
Stirling Albion: Position last season – 10th in Second Division
New arrivals – Bradley Coyne, David Crawford, Kieran McAnespie, David McClune, Mark Peat
Manager Greig McDonald stated: "We are hoping for a better season than last year and we want to do that with a bit of style. We want our young group of players to develop and play good attacking football that will excite the fans.
"The boys responded well to what we are trying to do in pre-season and I have to praise them for the shape they came back in after their holidays as it makes my job a lot easier.
"I reckon that all the teams have strengthened their squads however, Rangers are massive favourites on paper although they will need to work hard to justify that role.
"Peterhead, Annan and Berwick have all brought new players to their clubs and, of course, Queen’s Park are always a very good side so it should be a cracking division."
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