- 5 months ago
Mark Atkinson, Matthew Elder and Graham Falk preview the start of the Premiership season.
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00:00Hello and welcome back to the Scotsman Football Show as we celebrate the return of the Scottish
00:08Premiership this weekend. We've had Premier Sports Cup action, we've had European action,
00:12but the league season is always possibly the most exciting part of any new season.
00:17My name's Graeme Falk and I can't wait to get tucked into all of the chat about the
00:21upcoming games this weekend. But before we do, I'd like to introduce Scotsman Sports
00:25Editor. Mark, are you as excited as I am? Oh yeah, I love the start of the Premiership
00:30season. Everything's sitting on a blank canvas, every set of supporters are normally excited
00:37that they've got something to look forward to and with the season spanning across three
00:41days, or the opening day, sorry, spanning across three days, lots to look forward to.
00:47I'm also joined by Deputy Sports Editor Matthew Welder. Matt, it's always exciting when the
00:53season starts, isn't it? But where's your level of excitement at the moment?
00:57Yeah, there's always a level of intrigue to see how teams are going to shape up. You can
01:02never gauge a team on their pre-season, I don't think. We've been caught out with that many
01:06times where teams have a good pre-season and then don't do so well or vice versa. So yeah,
01:11just interested to see how all the teams look. And very hard to predict on opening weekend.
01:17Based on that, just how it's going to shape up. Looking forward to it.
01:20I think it depends how well you're doing in pre-season. I think if you win all your pre-season,
01:23games, they definitely matter. But if you lose them, it's just fitness, isn't it? After
01:27all, I think Hearts fans might feel a little bit more confident after the summer they've
01:31had, but other teams might not so much. But look, let's start with Celtic, Mark. It's
01:35been a different summer. And obviously, we're not at the end of the transfer window at the
01:39moment. But last season, me and you worked, World War III of us worked transfer deadline
01:44day. And it felt like they were coming out like pops-up points. And it was like, trusty
01:48was coming out for 6 million. And then you had Engels coming out for 11 million. This
01:53summer's been a little bit slower. There's maybe a little bit of frustration sort of
01:56hindering around the fact they haven't spent a great deal. But they have brought in some
01:59really good players with some really good pedigree. Where do you think they sit right
02:03now going into the season?
02:05I think with Celtic, ultimately, they look weaker than they were a year ago. And that's
02:12because they don't have Kyogo Furihashi or Matt O'Reilly, players that played a big part
02:19in a very successful season prior to that. They did ultimately bring in some replacements
02:26to reinforce the squad. Adenida, and you mentioned Engels. Did they have great seasons? They had
02:34moments last season where they showed they could be good players. But you've got them that are
02:37quite young. They spent a lot of money on those guys. But if you look at Celtic right
02:41now, the fans are going, look, we are weaker. Jota's injured as well until Christmas. So
02:45there's a lot of firepower that's missing from the team. I'd like to say that I counter that
02:51by saying Celtic have got one of the best left backs in British football on a free transfer
02:55in Kieran Tierney. And I think optics play a part in this, Graeme. If Celtic had spent
02:5915 million on Kieran Tierney, you might not have the same level of angst among Celtic fans.
03:04They got this guy in a free transfer. That's a brilliant bit of business. By all accounts,
03:09Benjamin Negrin, who can play across the front line, a Swedish internationalist, a good player.
03:15I think there's just an element of, we've got lots of money here in the bank at Celtic,
03:19and we want to see these players come in sooner rather than later. And that, I think, is frustrating
03:23the fans. And it probably is frustrating Brendan Rogers as well. They still have the best team
03:27on paper. And I still expect them to start the season pretty well. They take on St Mirren
03:33on Sunday, on flag unveiling day. And I'm sure Rogers will have more players in the building
03:40between now and the end of the window. It's just not happened as fast as potentially people
03:45would like. The big thing for me about Celtic is maybe not so much Sunday. It's about the
03:52Champions League qualifiers. And we talk about Celtic, and I'm sure Matthew will call this as well.
03:56Celtic's biggest matches in August are not in the league. They are these Champions League
04:01playoff ties. And that's where the squad really needs to be ready for. And I think Rogers will want
04:05those players in the next week so they can better them. Matt, I wanted to ask a simple question
04:11surrounding the signings they brought in. They brought in Yamada up front as well,
04:17which is kind of an unknown quantity, Matt. But they are a little bit weaker. And I can sort of
04:24understand it. But the point that Mark makes about if Kieran Tierney comes in for 15 million,
04:28and if you're paying 7 million for Negrin, who, of course, was out of contract, I think,
04:32in six months. So they got him for like a bargain price. Did you maybe feel a little bit different
04:38about their window? Yeah, I think they've made two good signings there, two very good signings.
04:42By all accounts, we know how good Kieran Tierney can be when he's fit. So keeping him fit will be
04:46the key for Celtic this season. Definite upgrade on Greg Taylor as well as he did for Celtic. And I
04:52think I rate Greg Taylor as well. Kieran Tierney's an undoubted upgrade there. And then Benjamin
04:57in Gren. All the reports on him look good. Shin Yamada, a very unknown quantity. But could he be
05:05the Furuhashi replacement? Kyoglu himself was quite unknown when he came over here and look what he did.
05:09So I think what Celtic have earned is a bit more trust than maybe they're getting from their fans
05:15at this stage. There's a bit of panic stations going on. I understand that I don't think anybody
05:22expected Celtic to go into the opening game of the season, probably starting Yang. I don't see
05:29anywhere around how maybe Yang, Maida and Aida maybe start as a front three on Sunday. I don't
05:35think that was maybe what Celtic fans envisaged going into the window. But there's still a month
05:39of it to go. And last season, as you said, there was a lot of late business done that I don't think
05:44you can argue that any of those players didn't come in and make a positive impact. You can argue how big
05:49a positive impact Ida had, but he did score important goals. And Arnott Engels, you can
05:56argue about his transfer fee, but I think you look back on the season that he had, he made a positive
06:01impact. Celtic won two trophies. They were much better in the Champions League than they have
06:06been in recent years and got further into the knockout stages for the first time in a lot of years.
06:11I just think maybe Celtic fans need to calm down a little bit and just bear in mind that there's
06:15there is money there to be spent. I don't imagine them going to the end of the window not spending
06:19a decent amount on bolstering that forward line particularly. And obviously they've got the centre
06:24half, the young centre half, Simpson Puzzi coming in from Manchester City as well, which will give them
06:29a lift ahead of the weekend. So if I was a Celtic fan, yes, I'd be looking for a bit of reinforcement
06:37there, but I wouldn't be panicking either. I think Red and Rodgers are going to be better.
06:43I'm interrupting here, but I just want to, we talk about, are you confident, Matthew,
06:47this Celtic team is good enough to get into the Champions League? Right now, up against some teams
06:52that have already been playing in qualifiers. That's the worry, I think, for Celtic. Are they...
06:57I'm actually definitely confident, but having seen their potential opponents, I'm more confident.
07:02I don't think there's anything there that should, that Celtic shouldn't get past. I've not got
07:07the list of teams to hand, but I saw it earlier this week and I thought, yeah, nothing fearing
07:11me there for Celtic. So yeah, I do think that, I do think they should get through and I don't
07:16think that will particularly be on the transfer window if they don't get through. I think Brendan
07:20Rodgers and his current squad should be able to get through that. Fair enough.
07:24Looking at Rangers, Mark, that's kind of been one of the stories of the summer because new manager,
07:29sort of new American ownership, there's a bit more excitement. And I was at the,
07:34it feels like yesterday, the Dundee United game, the last home game of the season,
07:37and it kind of felt like you were just sitting there going like, okay, there's a game happening,
07:40but what next? Because this era needs to sort of end and things need to move forward.
07:45They brought in Russell Martin, which I think is a really, really good appointment. Personally,
07:49I think Rangers will have an identity, although it might take a few weeks to see that.
07:54They've been really active in the transfer window. But ultimately,
07:58the question I was going to ask, I'm going to change a little bit, it was going to be asked,
08:01can they get closer to Rangers, but can they, sorry to Celtic, but can they afford to be
08:07not closer this season based on what's happened this summer?
08:12Well, we talk about patience with Celtic fans. I think Rangers fans need to show patience as well.
08:19This is a difficult season for Russell Martin and Rangers as a club as a whole. It's not just
08:25Russell Martin that's come in. It's a new owner. It's a new sporting director. It's a new way of work.
08:31And I always feel, I have a degree of sympathy for anybody who works in positions of power
08:36at Rangers at the moment, because when you bring in new structures, you need time to implement them.
08:42But at the old firm, you don't get any time whatsoever because the pressure to succeed, it's so
08:47big. It's win or bust for so many people who are involved with that club. So that makes a nice
08:53life really difficult for Rangers. I think they can afford to not win the league. I don't think
09:01there's many Rangers fans who truthfully will expect them to win the league this year. I think
09:06those fans do want to see progress. They want to not just see progress in terms of the points
09:12difference being closer, but they want to see progress on the pitch. They want to see a team
09:16that plays with an identity, a team that is able to take care of business against smaller clubs who
09:22they struggled with last season. I think if they can show that and Russell Martin can entertain the
09:28fans with his brand of football and potentially have a good European run, whether it's Champions League,
09:33European League or Conference League, then he should buy himself some time. You just cannot
09:38expect this new Rangers regime to hit the ground running, nor can you expect eight new signings to
09:43hit the ground running either. So there has to be a degree of wriggle room for Rangers and patience.
09:52But undoubtedly, like anything, there needs to be also a degree of progress. I think if they can
09:57get to the, if Rangers can this season get to the split, still in with a chance of winning the title.
10:03I'm not saying leading the race, but still in the hunt, that would be a success for me.
10:11You look at the signings they've brought in as well, Matt. They've brought in a lot. There's
10:15been players that will, I think, undoubtedly strengthen the squad because Sam has started
10:19really, really well. I think he's already kind of getting called hero status with some Rangers fans.
10:24But up top, you've got Danilo, who's been, look, with all due respect to him, permitting just for
10:28two seasons and not massively impressed, I suppose, in my opinion, when he has had an extended run,
10:34although it's been very few and far between. And there's big question marks around Deces and
10:38Igamane's future. That's totally up in the air. Do they need to strengthen further forward? And will
10:43it be more beneficial to Rangers for either Igamane or Deces to move on so they can sort of spend that
10:48money and open up a spot up front?
10:51We definitely need to strengthen up front if Deces and Igamane leave. That's their,
10:57you would argue, fully fit there ahead of Danilo in the queue.
11:00Yeah.
11:01To start up front, Danilo, yeah, he's had a good pre-season. I don't think he was particularly
11:08impressive in the two Champions League matches that they played. But, I mean,
11:14Rangers were lucky to get through, I think, if we're being honest, that Celtic, the likes of
11:18Dyson Maeda will be licking his lips and rubbing his hands at the moment of passing the ball at the
11:23back Rangers were doing in these matches. You can just see Maeda running amok in that type of
11:29situation if Rangers don't sort of get their act together in terms of the way they're passing the
11:32ball out. It's obviously very early days for Russell Martin and his philosophy. But yeah,
11:36Rangers still need to strengthen. They've obviously, they have made those eight new
11:39sign-ins, but, and Mikey Moore coming in today, which will be another good one.
11:44Jeddy Kassama is really impressed coming off the bench in those Champions League games.
11:49But yeah, a figure man, as we're led to believe, could be on the way out.
11:53Deces has had a lot of interest as well and such a polarizing figure. Do you really want to go
11:57into another season with Deces leading the line? And all the baggage that comes around that,
12:02they probably do need another centre-forward, given that these things are going on in the background.
12:06And Danilo Fermi, if he stays at the club, would probably be a number two striker. I don't
12:12see him being the one to go and get the 25-30 goals that Rangers don't need. And I do agree with Mark.
12:16I don't think Rangers fans will be expecting their team to win the league this season. And I don't
12:24think Russell Martin does need to win the league in his first season. But I don't think he can lose
12:29the league the way that Philip Clermont did last season. I don't think we can have another season
12:34at Rangers where, for instance, to go five home games without winning and losing to teams, bottom
12:41six teams, left, right and centre. They just can't be doing that. Russell Martin needs to get his team
12:47up and running quickly and they need to go neck and neck with Celtic for this title and showing
12:54at least some promise that under his tenure they can do something. If it's not going to be this year,
13:00then certainly the year after.
13:01It's a tricky start as well, though, wasn't it? Motherwell who beat them at Ibrox in March,
13:05I think it was. They got the 2-2 drawn. I want to say it was Boxing Day. It was around the New
13:10Year's fixtures. Motherwell away, it sounds easier than maybe Selig away or Harts away,
13:16but it's a tricky, banana-skinny fixture, isn't it, for Rangers, really?
13:22Yeah, no.
13:23Yeah?
13:26Please say you both agree.
13:27I'm sure we'll touch on Motherwell later on in the show, but I think they're a different team
13:33this year, our new manager, and their best player is on the way out. I think Rangers might give Motherwell
13:39a doing tomorrow, but who knows? I mean, I could be wrong there. Rangers haven't won an opening
13:45game for the last two seasons. Drew at Harts, lost to Kalmanac. So there's pressure there to start well,
13:51but I think Motherwell away, in the grand scheme of things, is not a bad fixture.
13:57We knew they were going to be away anyway, because it's Flag Day and Celtic Park. We have to be away from home.
14:01So I think that if you were to pick somewhere to go, Fair Park probably wouldn't be the worst
14:06venue for me. But Matt may disagree, of course.
14:12Yeah, I think you're right. I think Rangers will win tomorrow. Motherwell under new management as well.
14:18Like you say, losing Lennon Miller. I just think they're going to take time to get up to speed
14:24under their new manager as well. And Rangers are more than capable of going there and winning comfortably, I think.
14:31Let's talk at Harts, Mark, because this is a club in the Scottish Premiership at the moment where it
14:38feels really positive. I was at the game last week when we beat Sunderland 3-0 and Craig Gordon's
14:44feeling positive and he's injured for however many weeks. Claudio Braga scoring goals.
14:48Shantland's beginning to look a little bit more like Lauren Shantland of maybe the previous seasons.
14:54They finished seventh last season. They had a season of three different managers where,
14:59you know, Fox comes in twice to be caretaker. Critchley never really fitted. Naismith had like
15:06a poor start and then it turned into a disastrous start and then all of a sudden the bottom of the
15:10league and fighting with Hibbs as it was at the time. But the positivity around Harts,
15:15the structure they seem to have in place, the kind of high-pressing football we got used to
15:19seeing under Derek McInnes is already starting. I think they've got four wins in the Premier
15:23Sports Cup, 12 goals, beat Sunderland 3-0 in Craig Gordon's testimonial. Are Harts favourites for third?
15:31I liked how you said beat Sunderland 3-0 through gritted teeth there, Graeme.
15:35Yes.
15:36We won't linger on that. I was at their press conference yesterday and we had a
15:44wee conversation on the press pack waiting for Derek McInnes to come and speak to us.
15:48Not one journalist thought that Harts wouldn't finish third. So Harts are our favourites to finish
15:52third. I think there's a multitude of reasons for that. They don't have a European football.
15:57They've had the Premier Sports Cup, as you alluded to, to get ready for this. They've signed early
16:04and their new signings seem to be betting in quite well. But actually there's just a real feel-good
16:08factor around Tyne Castle is an anticipation around Harts that they're going to do well this season.
16:14Derek McInnes, for me, should have been a Harts manager long before this summer. He's been an
16:19obvious choice for this club for too long and they finally have him in place. He's just a good fit for
16:26Scottish football. Not every manager appointment is a risk, but this feels the least risky option the
16:34Harts could have taken. I don't think they're going to be a team that's going to go undefeated or even
16:40potentially challenge the old firm. I don't think they're good enough yet to do that. But they've got
16:44all the right pieces of the jigsaw in the right place. They've got good centre-halves, they've got
16:48strong midfielders, they've got good wide players and they've got goal scorers. You mentioned Braga
16:53and Shankland. A fit in firing Shankland should be 20 goals this season. I think they're favourites for
16:59third, but they're going to face stiff competition for it. I'm fascinated by Monday night's
17:04game against Aberdeen because Tynecastle is going to be, it's going to be, it's going to be a sort of
17:10cauldron on Friday, on Monday night. There's going to be so much excitement from these fans and they'll
17:14want to blow away Aberdeen to get a statement result. I think that really sets them off.
17:19So for me, they are favourites, but not overwhelming favourites. I'm really looking forward to the battle
17:24for third place. I think Hibbs and Aberdeen will have a real say on that as well. And yeah, it should
17:31be a really intriguing battle between, in my opinion, the three biggest teams outside of the
17:36all-time. I think when you're looking at Hart as well, in terms of Shankland, you touched on there,
17:43look, a fit in firing Shankland, if you get 20 goals a season, that just puts you ahead of maybe
17:47some other teams that maybe Hibbs and maybe Aberdeen necessarily don't have, although things can
17:52change. But Matt, if Hart's off favours for third, the direct sort of people are going to be as
17:59strong as my challenge and then it's going to be Hibbs and Aberdeen. And I think that game on
18:02Monday between Hibbs and Aberdeen is a great chance for both sides to put a marker down, I think.
18:07I know we had a bit of a, shall we say, a wobble, Jimmy Tallinn, after the kind of brilliant start
18:13where you thought, hang on a minute, are they going to go for a title challenge?
18:17He ended the season with a trophy, which is massive, and ultimately it was a really successful
18:21season for them. For Hibbs, it was like, I always say, a relegation battle into revolution under
18:28David Gray. It was just an unbelievable turnaround and that's really difficult to keep up, especially
18:33with the fact that Trant, as it stands at the moment, hasn't come back and he was really pivotal
18:38to that push towards third place. But will Hibbs and Aberdeen be as strong as they were last season?
18:45Can they build on what they did?
18:48I think Hibbs will. Difficult with the European situation to know how they'll cope with that.
18:55Clubs always seem to struggle who are trying to get through qualifiers and then get into
18:59group stages. There always seems to be a difficulty with Scottish clubs balancing that. But yeah,
19:05I fancy Hibbs to do well again this season, based on the fact that they've got, for me too,
19:12the two of the best young talents in Scottish football, Kieran Bowie and Josh Mulligan. I think
19:19both of these guys will be Scotland internationals. And by that I mean starting Scotland internationals
19:27in the not too distant future. Two very, very exciting talents. And the way Mulligan has played in
19:35sort of that central midfield role, I don't think Hibbs have missed Triant too much so far. Obviously,
19:42they did want to bring him back, but I think Mulligan can go in there and do a similar job.
19:47So yeah, there's that. They've got a strong back line, getting you Bashiri back again. Grant
19:57Hanley in the stands the other night. I don't overly rate Grant Hanley in a Scotland shirt,
20:04but I think he could be a not bad signing for Hibbs in the Scottish Premiership level. I just think
20:11Hanley sometimes struggles when we come up against some of the former forward lines that you do in
20:15international football, but I certainly wouldn't be against, if I was a Hibbs fan, wouldn't be
20:19against Hibbs signing Grant Hanley. And David Gray, the head coach as well, for me is
20:28just went in there and taken what was a bit of a basket case club over the last four or five years,
20:32and really just made them so strong and organised. Everybody seems to know their roles within the
20:40team and just a great figurehead for the club. So yeah, I fancy Hibbs to do well. Aberdeen,
20:45I fear for them at Tencastle on Monday. I just, I don't know. Hearts have, like Mark said, done
20:49their business early, getting Shanklin back, what a massive signing that is. The manager himself for
20:56me, probably the signing of the summer. Same as you, Mark, I think Hearts should have stopped mucking
21:02about as they have been with their appointments over the last few years and just went for McInnes.
21:07They could have saved themselves a lot of pain, I think. I don't think they'd been bottom six last
21:10season if McInnes had been appointed way back when Naismith was appointed. That was the time,
21:15I think, that they should have got McInnes in. Naismith, obviously coming up from the B team.
21:21That was the point to bring McInnes in and Hearts would have, would be fine by now. But yeah, I do
21:25fancy them to do well. Some of their signings have really caught the eye. Claudio Braga scoring plenty
21:28goals. Aberdeen, obviously they had that magnificent Scottish Cup final win, but they've lost a few players
21:35from last term. Kevin Nisbet, I think, was a real focal point for them. A good goal scorer. Obviously,
21:42after the AC Milan boy at the moment, was it Lazatic? We'll see if they can get him in. He might be his
21:50replacement, but I just look at their signings and it's just players that we don't really know a lot
21:55about. So I may have been a bit unfair in saying that for them on Monday. I just think Hearts seem
22:00to be in a much better place. They've had the Premier Sports Cup to really get themselves well
22:05oiled and in sort of competitive football mode. When I look at Aberdeen's pre-season, I don't really
22:10see much activity there. They've also had the training camp in the Algarve and a couple of friendlies.
22:17I just think they may be a wee bit undercoop for what you say, Mark, is going to be a
22:21a pretty raucous timecastle on Monday. Looking at Dundee United, they had a massive win yesterday,
22:27Mark. St Mirren have had three consecutive top six finishers now. Best of the rest,
22:33or do you think they can be challenged by, you know, you've got Motherwell,
22:35Killy, you've also got Dundee under Stephen Presley under that as well. Can any of them
22:39challenge us at Dundee United and St Mirren? In your opinion, that'll be the best of the rest.
22:44So I wrote a piece a couple of weeks ago where I said Scottish football's got a new ecosystem.
22:49And for me, that ecosystem is Harts, Aberdeen, and Hibs. Essentially not in that order,
22:54but they've spent so much money over the past couple of seasons where they pull away from the
22:59rest, but don't get much closer to the old firm. And I'd be very surprised. It would take an
23:05underperformance from one of those three clubs to not be in the top five. So then you're going,
23:11right, there's one place left in the top six. If you believe in that theory, one place left in the
23:14top six. You're right, St Mirren have been in it for the past three seasons. Can they make it four?
23:19I mean, that would be a remarkable achievement for Stephen Robinson, just given what resource
23:23he has to play with. But St Mirren looked the same St Mirren that I've watched for the past
23:27three seasons. I caught their game against Ayr on Sunday in the Cup on TV, and he's looked
23:32physical, well-organised. I would really like Killian Phillips. I think he should be
23:36an important player this season. He kind of epitomises what Samir Norland is about.
23:41Dundee United, conversely, have signed so many new players. I've actually lost count of how many
23:46players, and I've certainly lost count of how many different nationalities have come in.
23:50And it's like a United Nations going on in paradise. Now, these players could be really good.
23:55We just don't know yet. I'm pleased they got through against, you know, Strassen, because that would have
23:59really set them back. And I've got a lot of time for Jim Goodwin. I think he's done a really good job there.
24:03So a bit of an unknown quantity. I think it is probably between them and St Mirren right now for
24:08that last place in the top six, as we're talking just now. Cam Motherwell and Kilmarnock get in the
24:15conversation. New managers at both clubs. Stuart Kettlewell at Kilmarnock. They actually didn't
24:21consider a goal in the Premier Sports Cup. Kind of got under the radar a little bit. Kilmarnock.
24:25And they've got a very exciting young player in Ben Branham, who's just signed a new contract.
24:29Left-sided player. A lot of talk about him. But how do Kilmarnock perform without Derek
24:37McInnes in charge? I think that's a fascinating notion. Motherwell with Jens Bertolasco in charge,
24:45a bit of an unknown as well. My fear for Motherwell is that if you take Leonard Miller out of that team,
24:49there's a lack of stardust. And that stardust has made them safe for the past couple of seasons.
24:54So we'll need to see how they go. And I think you mentioned Dundee as well. New manager Stephen
25:00Presley. They've had a terrible start to life under Presley because they lost two Premier
25:04Sports Cup ties. And they did win their final two on two matches. But there's a lot of negativity
25:11around Dundee right now. They've lost so many players. Josh Mulligan, who Matthew talked about.
25:15Lyle Cameron off the Rangers. Even Mo Siller going to Livingston. The captain, Joe Shaughnessy,
25:22went to Australia. So Dundee are not the Dundee team that we watched last season. I think we were
25:26all really impressed with Dundee last season. So I don't see them, those three clubs really being
25:32in the conversation for top five. I'm not really sure I see them being in the conversation for the
25:36top six. I wonder if those three clubs are just going to try and keep their head above water.
25:42It's going to be competitive at the bottom of the league this year because there are
25:46a couple of teams that have come up that we'll just talk about in a second who are
25:49going to really give it a good shot. I find the bottom half of the league just as fascinating
25:55as the top half this season. I think it'll be ultra competitive.
25:58I think Simon and Murray will have an awful lot resting on his shoulders this year in terms of
26:03that relegation battle, I think, because probably the best goal scorer down that side of the league.
26:08But Livy and Falkirk, Livy back up, Matt. We kind of know what we get from Livy,
26:13a little bit of a different team, I suppose, but we know what we get from David Martindale,
26:17shall we say. And Falkirk, two phenomenal seasons. And I think you see it continuously that when a club
26:23has such a good two years or three years, momentum kind of drags them further forward and a good start
26:30can sometimes keep their heads above water. And then when it levels out a bit, that can change. But
26:34how do you feel Livingston and Falkirk will do? Have they got enough to stay up? I mean,
26:38obviously, I think they will be involved down the bottom. I think they'll either just escape or be
26:43involved in it. But have they got enough to keep their heads above water?
26:48I will tell, I suppose. But I mean, what a job John McGlynn's done. Unbelievable to take Falkirk.
26:55I mean, talk about Hibs being a basket case. My goodness, Falkirk.
26:58Football club were a circus for a lot of years down in Languish in League One. And to take them up back to back.
27:06Just a fantastic achievement. And mostly with the same squad, I think. They got promoted in League One.
27:15They went and did the same in the Championship. And I'm not seeing too much evidence of a lot of influx of
27:21signings either this summer from Falkirk. So he's obviously got the players that he likes and trusts, John McGlynn.
27:27I'm just not sure that they'll be strong enough to cope with the Premiership after that back-to-back run.
27:34And this could be the time that it really starts to get quite difficult for them. But I have so much
27:40admiration for John McGlynn. And the job he did at Wraith Rovers before that as well was fantastic.
27:46Really unfortunate with his time at Hearts, the way that went with financial difficulties and stuff.
27:50I just think he's such an underrated manager. Maybe not underrated now. I think he's rated quite highly.
27:55But he had been quite underrated for a lot of years. And they'll come up and they'll just
27:59try to play the same way. They play an exciting brand of football on the deck mostly. And Brad
28:06Spencer as well. I noticed in the last few weeks they've got him re-signed. A really important pivot
28:11in the midfield there for them dictates games. I'm imagining clubs in the Premiership would have been
28:16looking at him. So that's a big re-signing. And Brian Graham is an interesting one as well.
28:22Championship top school for the past couple of seasons. Has he still got it in him to make an
28:26impact on the Premiership level? We'll see. So yeah, I'm not too sure. I think they're up
28:32against it, Falkirk. Livingston, David Martindale knows what the league's all about. Very interested
28:37to see their new synthetic surface as well. A lot of criticism about Livingston's surface
28:42over the years, but they've replaced it now. So just in time for it being the last season that
28:48we're going to have at official pitches in the Premiership, unless something changes there.
28:54So yeah, interested to see how they do. They've made a lot more signings than Falkirk have. They
29:00finished the season strong last year, so a lot of momentum behind Livingston as well.
29:05Yeah, I think they got off to a good start. I think Livingston could do okay. Martindale
29:12obviously had them pushing for the top six a couple of times before it all went to pot in the
29:16relegation season. But they obviously had a few bits of financial difficulties going on there as
29:20well. But obviously new owners, they've made a few signings this summer. David Martindale was very
29:27experienced, knows the Premiership, has been pushing for the top six before. Maybe a wee surprise
29:32package there. Who knows? I think momentum's massive, isn't it? If you lose those first couple
29:37of games, then you go, oh no. If you win the first couple, you go, oh, European push. And look,
29:42Dundee United did it last year, so why not dream about it? But Mark, Matt, thanks very much for
29:47joining. We're really excited to get the sort of season underway. I know we've had the Premier
29:51SportsCup games, but there's nothing better than sort of league fixtures in my opinion. But thanks for joining.
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