Football Season Guide

The Warriors have spent the summer licking their wounds after a desperate 2016/17 season which ended in relegation after finishing bottom of the League One table. Experienced manager, Brown Ferguson, has acted decisively during the summer by making wholesale changes to his squad with several influential players leaving the club, including midfielder and player of the season Kieran Millar, who has joined East Fife. Winger Alan Cook has signed for Alloa Athletic and is another notable loss whilst defender Fraser Kerr and midfielder Vinnie Berry have both surprisingly been released. Ferguson will be pleased to have held on to defender Ross Meechan as well as striker and leading goalscorer Colin McMenamin. The manager has also looked to solve the defensive problems - which saw them use four goalkeepers and concede 64 goals last season - by bringing the experience of goalkeeper Chris Smith, who was surprisingly released despite being player of the season at Stirling Albion. A quartet of players have arrived from neighbours Albion Rovers in defenders Michael and Ross Dunlop plus Ross Gilmour and midfielder Mark Ferry. Attacking midfielder Martin Scott played an important role in Arbroath's title-winning side last season and is likely to play a similar role at Ochilview Park this term. Striker Mark McGuigan also has plenty of experience and will have something to prove following a disappointing year at Stranraer. Ferguson has supplemented those experienced players with a trio of youngsters in defender Joshua Gracie and midfielders Robbie Sinclair and Thomas Halleran signed in a partnership with the Forth Valley Football Academy. Having allowed 26 players to leave the club and, at the time of writing, brought in 16 players, they will need to be given time to gel into a team. There is plenty of cause for optimism however that the Warriors will be challenging for the League Two title and make an immediate return to League One.