There’s no way this will be a two-horse race
THE presence of Hibs and Dundee United sets up a cracking Championship this season.
And, while I expect them to be the leading contenders for the title and automatic-promotion spot, I don’t see them having things all their own way.
If you were to ask me to put money on who’ll win the title, I’d go for Hibs.
They put in a strong challenge to Rangers last year and, of course, ended their 114-year wait to win the Scottish Cup.
Alan Stubbs, who led them to success at Hampden, has departed for Rotherham, but his replacement is very much a winner.
Neil Lennon has managed at a high level with Celtic and, after a brief spell out of the game, will be very keen to raise his stock up again.
The only way he can do that is by taking Hibs up to the Premiership because that is the yardstick by which he will be judged.
Having seen the Easter Road club get stuck in the Championship – this is their third year out of the top flight, Dundee United will be desperate to go straight back up.
Their new manager, Ray McKinnon, obviously knows the Championship very well from his time with Raith Rovers.
With greater resources now at his disposal, he will want to get them promoted, whether it be by automatically or via the play-off.
But, as I have said, I think they will have competition.
My idea of a lively title outsider would be St Mirren, who are improving under Alex Rae and have tradition, plus a lot going for them in terms of ground and facilities.
We can’t dismiss the chances of Falkirk, either.
They impressed everybody with their performances in the regulation season last year, eventually losing out to Kilmarnock in the play-off final.
I fancy those clubs to be the top four, yet wouldn’t be amazed if Raith Rovers – who moved smartly to replace McKinnon with ex-Killie boss Gary Locke – crashed the party.
Rovers will have Fife derbies with Dunfermline to look forward to this year, a fixture which is always popular.
The Pars are another club with a long top-flight history, and they will still think the Premiership is where they should be playing their football.
But as strong as they were last season, it will be tough to pull off back-to-back promotions.
There are not many teams who can make that trick work. Remember, Rangers failed.
Ayr United, too, will be a valuable addition to the league in terms of support. But I would think Ian McCall’s aim will be to consolidate the club’s position in the division.
The early signs have been encouraging for Morton fans, and any team under the charge of Jim Duffy can never be discounted.
Whichever way it works out, I think we can be sure of an enthralling Championship from the first whistle to play-off drama at the end of the campaign.