Football Season Guide

A season that began brightly for Rovers saw them finish in 5th place and manager John McGylnn left to take charge at Falkirk. They misread their support and the political mood by signing the infamous David Goodwillie. After that mess, their form fell apart. Former St Mirren and Airdrie boss Ian Murray has taken on the challenge. Rovers have seen several significant departures with defensive trio Benedictus, Musonda and Tumilty leading the way. That leaves some big gaps to fill. Several loanees will be missed as well including midfielder Williamson and strikers Varian and Poplatnik. Riley-Snow and McKay are further departures that weaken the Rovers squad. Key veteran defender Christophe Berra has retired on the eve of the season. Ross Millen has arrived as part of a new defence after 20 appearances for Scunthorpe last season. Murray returned to his previous club Airdrie and has secured talented midfielder Dylan Easton. Scott Brown has signed after a strong season at Peterhead with 41 appearances and 9 goals. Long-time collaborator, Scott Agnew, has also joined as assistant manager. Murray has a rebuilding job on his hands at Raith Rovers with Benedictus and Tumilty particularly difficult to replace in defence. The midfield is strengthened by the arrivals of Brown and Easton. However, they lack physical presence in attack and may be looking towards the loan market to solve that problem.