Football Season Guide

East Fife have had a tricky summer, largely because of the board's dallying over the appointment of a new manager. It was deep into June before they finally named Darren Young as their boss and the result has been that they have found it tricky to sign players. Young has been playing catch-up and was forced to battle over scraps in the transfer window in the main. This was particularly troublesome as two of the club's most important players, Ross Brown and Scott Robinson, had already agreed to move on to Livingston. Otherwise, much of the team has been retained, with the exception of regulars Tony Wallace, who spent much of last season injured, and Nicki Paterson. Wallace was by no means an anomaly in the squad with regards to his physical condition last season though. East Fife were ravaged with injury problems throughout the second half of the campaign, and that has continued into the early weeks of this season, with numerous players carrying knocks throughout their Betfred Cup matches. From the evidence of these, scoring goals will be their major worry. However, Chris Duggan, their expected No.9, is a fine finisher when he is given the chance. There has been no particular reinforcement offensively in East Fife's ranks, with Paul Willis the only player added to the panel to reinforce that area of the team. Conversely, there has been quite a bit of work done on the defence, which was the speciality of Young as he got his side to punch above their weight in the league for several seasons in succession. East Fife managed to retain the services of Jonathan Page, one of the best defenders in the league last season and they have added the reliable Ben Gordon to their rearguard this time around. They should form a strong central partnership, while Mark Docherty and Aaron Dunsmore are expected to play as full-backs. In the heart of the field, Kieran Millar joins up from relegated Stenhousemuir – another strong addition of paper. Keeping the likes of Mark Lamont and Kyle Wilkie fit will be vital to the Fifers, who have a strong unit on paper.