Alloa Athletic

Alloa experienced a disappointing campaign last time out but were handcuffed for much of the season by the inept management of Barry Ferguson. Once they had rid themselves of the manager, they experienced a sharp upturn in form and easily moved away from relegation trouble to finish fifth under Brian Rice. Rice has worked this summer to rid the team of many of its problem players, who did not necessarily lack in quality but were certainly unable to get themselves fit and proved a major drain of resources. Alan Trouten and Ben Armour are both cases in point and have joined up with League Two outfits as a result. Meanwhile, the make up for the bench promises to be rather different. Perhaps the only player that Alloa have lost that they might rather have kept was centre-forward Steven Boyd, who has joined Inverness after an excellent campaign with the club. Ross MacIver, a favourite of Rice, has re-joined the team. Otherwise, Alloa have recruited promising young players such as centre-back George Stanger. Rangers youngsters Murray Miller and Jay Hogarth have also joined up on loan for the duration of the season. With a more experienced goalkeeper in the form of Willie Muir arriving from Queen’s Park, Alloa look a team that is well balanced in terms of youth and experience but also in terms of the positional make up of their squad. Stefan Scougall and Kevin Cawley will hope to have more of an influence on the squad this season, while more is also expected of centre forward Conor Sammon but, after three poor campaigns, that is probably too much to ask. This lack of offensive production could prove to be Alloa’s major weakness in a squad that otherwise looks well set up.