League 1 preview

Dunfermline Athletic are firm favourites with the bookies to claim the League 1 title in 2014/15 after finishing second to Rangers last season.

Morton will also expect to do well in what could be an extremely tight division, with the majority of teams covered by only a small number of points last time round.

Craig Stewart runs the rule over the 10 clubs in League 1 ahead of Saturday’s big kick-off.

Airdrieonians 
Airdrie’s season was turned round from one of looking odds-on for relegation to the form side in the division following Gary Bollan’s appointment last autumn. The former Livingston manager worked hard to build a winning mentality in his squad and will be disappointed to start this season with two defeats in cup competitions.

Ayr United 
Player/ manager Mark Roberts is hoping that a new-look defence will be key to a successful campaign. Nicky Devlin is at right-back and Kevin McKinlay will occupy the left-hand side. The centre-back pairing of Martyn Campbell and Carlisle legend Peter Murphy are expected to be the bedrock of a good season from the Honest Men.

Ryan Donnelly has been brought in to replace goalscorer Michael Moffat and the former Airdrie, Brechin City and Albion Rovers man has got off to a good start with two goals against East Stirling last weekend. Watch out also for Jon-Paul McGovern, who Roberts has described as a sensational player.

Brechin City
Injuries ruined City’s season last time out and instead of heading for promotion manager Ray McKinnon’s side needed a late rally to avoid the relegation play-offs. Eight players left in the summer, with McKinnon recruiting Callum Tapping, Jamie McCormack, Colin Hamilton, Gary Fusco and Darren McCormack. McKinnon will be looking for his men to be injury free and, if he gets that, then he has the players to finish a lot higher than eighth.

Dunfermline Athletic
The Pars lost to Cowdenbeath in the play-off final back in May and that result confined them to a second season of League 1 football. Manager Jim Jefferies reacted by making the impressive signing of Michael Moffat from Ayr United, with the 30-year-old sampling life as a full-time footballer for the first time.

Dunfermline saw off Raith Rovers in the Petrofac Training Cup in midweek and the key for them could be leading from the front as opposed to chasing as they did last season when Rangers dominated.

Forfar Athletic 
Forfar flirted with the promotion play-offs last season without ever making a serious commitment and manager Dick Campbell has changed things around.

Eight players have left, with the number of Campbells on the books going down to one from four as assistant manager Ian has left due to business commitments with the manager’s sons, Iain and Ross, moving on to Cowdenbeath and East Fife respectively. The Loons have recruited well with Derek Young, Stephen Husband, Danny Denholm, Dale Hilson and Andrew Steeves all coming on board. There is fire-power in their ranks and they have to be considered as play-off contenders.

Morton
After a disappointing start to last season Morton manager Allan Moore lost his job. Kenny Shiels came in and he re-cast the squad, with the former Kilmarnock manager also looking to introduce a different style of play. Despite some promising signs, Shiels’ appointment never worked in terms of reaching safety and Morton’s season finished on a low when they went down 10-2 to Hamilton Accies.

Jim Duffy has come in to try and lift the Greenock side back up the way however his plans for a solid start have taken a knock after injuries to new striking signings Andrew Barrowman and Stefan McCluskey. If Duffy can unearth a goalscorer you can expect Morton to do well as his Clyde side last season was built on very solid defending.

Peterhead
Peterhead manager Jim McInally has kept faith with the squad that led the Blue Toon to their first ever national title last season. Only Connor McGlinchey and Kevin Buchan have moved on, with McInally again sticking with what he knows in his recruitment.

Reece Donaldson has joined from Raith Rovers after being on loan at Balmoor last season with McInally also taking his former attacking midfielder at East Stirlingshire Jamie Stevenson north. With Stevenson, Rory McAllister and Andy Rodgers available you can expect Peterhead to score goals.

Stenhousemuir
Stenhousemuir enjoyed a fine first third of last season under Martyn Corrigan and a fine final third under Scott Booth however the middle third proved to be their downfall in both the league chase and the Scottish Cup.

Former Scotland coach Booth has led his side through his first pre-season and he has added experience with Alan Lithgow, Colin McMenamin and Martin Grehan all coming on board.

The Warriors will be aiming for a top-four finish and will need to gel quickly and come up with a striker to replace the goals that top goalscorer John Gemmell has taken to Albion Rovers with him.

Stirling Albion
Stirling Albion have dealt with the loss of Jordan White to Livingston by bringing in Gordon Smith from Raith Rovers, ex-Dundee and Arbroath striker Steven Doris and Lewis Coult, who has led the line with Cowdenbeath and Airdrie in recent seasons.

The Forthbank men timed their promotion run to perfection last season as they enjoyed a fine closing run and a successful play-off campaign that saw off Annan, who finished above them in the table, and East Fife from the league above. They will need to ensure that momentum gets them off to a good start in the higher league.

Stranraer
Stranraer were the surprise of last season, with Stephen Aitken’s side climbing into the play-off zone on the back of a good run of form which began in the autumn. Aitken won three Manager of the Month awards in a row as the Blues finished behind only Rangers and Dunfermline, with the Stair Park boss rewarded with a new two-year deal.

Andy Stirling and Martin Grehan have been tempted away but Craig Malcolm has returned from Ayr United and Frank McKeown has remained a Stranraer player despite attention from elsewhere.

As for this season, the element of surprise has gone but a second top-four finish is not beyond Stranraer as they are a side that have goals in their ranks.