Football Season Guide

After such a strong finish to last season, St Mirren are now burdened with expectation. At one point last season St Mirren were clear favourites for automatic relegation. However, new manager, Jack Ross, transformed the team in the second half of the campaign as they avoided relegation with a remarkable run of form. The problem for St Mirren is that Jack Ross is now hot property. Dundee have already tried to lure him but failed. Should St Mirren continue their progress then Ross will be wanted by other Premiership teams. St Mirren will miss their dead-ball specialist, Steve Mallan, who headed for Barnsley. However, so far, most of their other star players have remained. They have signed experienced goalkeeper, Craig Sampson. Strikers, Gavin Reilly and Cammy Smith, may not have made the grade at Hearts and Aberdeen respectively, but they should be capable of doing a job at the top end of the Championship. Overall, the squad is much the same as last season and expected to start the campaign strongly. Pre-season form has surprisingly not been as strong as expected with some poor performances in the Betfred Cup. While injuries and suspensions have led to St Mirren fielding an unsettled team, this drop in intensity and desire will be a concern for manager, Jack Ross. In the second part of last season, St Mirren were the next best team to the eventual champions Hibs. Their escape from relegation was nothing short of remarkable. However, after that feat they are now fully expected to continue and make a serious challenge for the title. If only football was that simple. The Championship is probably more competitive than ever this season with five or six teams feeling they have a chance of making an impact at the top. St Mirren are clearly one of those, and if they can rediscover last season's form, then they will be one of the favourites.