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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 transfer deadline. World War III of us worked
01:43transfer deadline day. And it felt like they were coming out like pops-up points. And it
01:47was like Trusty was coming out for 6 million. And then you had Engels coming out for 11 million.
01:52And this summer's been a little bit slower. There's maybe a little bit of frustration
01:55sort of hindering around the fact they haven't spent a great deal. But they have brought in
01:59some really 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 Kyogu Furihashi or Matt O'Reilly, players that played a big part
02:18in a very successful season prior to that. They did ultimately bring in some replacements
02:26to reinforce the squad. Adonida, 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
03:04fans. They got this guy in a free transfer. That's a brilliant bit of business. By all
03:08accounts, Benjamin Negrin, who can play across the front line, Swedish internationals, a good
03:13player. And I think there's just an element of we've got lots of money here in the bank
03:18at Celtic, and we want to see these players come in sooner rather than later. And that I
03:22think is frustrating the fans. And it probably is frustrating Brendan Rogers as well. They still
03:27look the best team on paper, and I still expect them to start the season pretty well. They
03:32take on St Nairn on Sunday, on a flag unveiling day. And I'm sure Rogers will have more players
03:40in the building between now and the end of the window. It's just not happened as fast as
03:44potentially people would like. The big thing for me about Celtic, maybe not so much Sunday,
03:51it's about the Champions League qualifiers. And we talk about Celtic, and I'm sure Matthew
03:55comes with this as well. Celtic's biggest matches in August are not in the league. They're these
04:00Champions League playoff ties. And that's where the squad really needs to be ready for.
04:04And I think Rogers will want those players in the next week's league in Benjamin.
04:08Matt, I wanted to ask a simple question. Sorry for interrupting there. Surrounding the signings
04:14they've brought in. They've brought in Yamada up front as well, which is kind of an unknown quantity,
04:19Matt. But they are a little bit weaker. And I can sort of understand it. But the point that
04:25Mark makes about if Kieran Tierney comes in for 15 million, and if you're paying 7 million
04:30for Negrin, who of course was out of contract, I think, in six months, so they got him for
04:33like a bargain price. You'd maybe feel a little bit different about their window?
04:38Yeah, I think they've made two good signings there. Two very good signings. By all accounts,
04:43we know how good Kieran Tierney can be when he's fit. So keeping him fit will be the key
04:47for Celtic this season. Definite upgrade on Greg Taylor as well as he did for Celtic.
04:51And I think I rate Greg Taylor as well. Kieran Tierney's undoubted upgrade there in Benjamin
04:57and Gren. All the reports on him look good. Shen Yamada, a very unknown quantity. But could
05:04he be the Furuhashi replacement? Kyoglu himself was quite unknown when he came over here and look
05:09what he did. So I think what Celtic have earned is a bit more trust than maybe they're getting
05:15from their fans at this stage. There's a bit of panic stations going on. I understand that
05:21I don't think anybody expected Celtic to go into the opening game of the season, probably
05:25starting Yang. I don't see anywhere around how maybe Yang, Maida and Ida maybe start as
05:33their front three on Sunday. I don't think that was maybe what Celtic fans envisaged going
05:38into the window. But there's still a month of it to go. And last season, as you said,
05:42there was a lot of late business done. I don't think you can argue that any of those players
05:45didn't come in and make a positive impact. You can argue how big a positive impact Ida
05:50had. But he did score important goals. And Arna Engels, you can argue about his transfer
05:58fee. But I think you look back on the season that he had, he made a positive impact. Celtic
06:02won two trophies. They were much better in the Champions League than they have been in recent
06:06years and got further into the knockout stages for the first time in a lot of years. So
06:10I just think maybe Celtic fans need to calm down a little bit and just bear in mind that
06:14there is money there to be spent. I don't imagine them going to the end of the window
06:18not spending a decent amount on bolstering that forward line particularly. And obviously
06:23they've got the centre half, the young centre half, Simpson Puzzi coming in from Manchester
06:27City as well, which will give them a lift ahead of the weekend. So if I was a Celtic fan,
06:33yes, I'd be looking for a bit of reinforcement there, but I wouldn't be panicking either.
06:39Yeah, I think they're heading to Rodgers.
06:43I'm interrupting here, but I just want to, we talk about, are you confident, Matthew,
06:47that Celtic team is good enough to get into the Champions League? Right now, up against
06:52some teams that have already been playing in qualifiers. That's the worry, I think, for
06:56Celtic.
06:57Are they?
06:58I'm 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.
07:06I've not got the list of teams to hand, but I saw it earlier this week and I thought,
07:10yeah, nothing fearing me there for Celtic. So, yeah, I do think they should get through
07:15and I don't think that'll particularly be on the transfer window if they don't get
07:19through. I think Brendan Rodgers and his current squad should be able to get through that.
07:23Fair enough.
07:24Looking at Rangers, Mark, that's kind of been one of the stories of the summer because
07:29new manager, sort of new American ownership, there's a bit more excitement. And I was at
07:33the, it feels like yesterday, the Dundee United game, the last home game of the season, and
07:37it 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. They've
07:54been really active in the transfer window. But ultimately, the question I was going to ask,
07:59I'm going to change a little bit, it was going to be asked, can they get closer to Rangers,
08:03but can they, sorry, to Celtic, but can they afford to be not closer this season based on
08:08what's happened this summer?
08:12Well, we talk about patience with Celtic fans. I think Rangers fans need to show patience
08:17as well. This is a difficult season for Russell Martin and Rangers as a club as a whole.
08:24It's not just Russell Martin that's come in. It's a new owner. It's a new sporting director.
08:29It's a new way of work. And I always feel, I feel, I have a degree of sympathy for anybody
08:35who works in positions of power at Rangers at the moment, because when you bring in new
08:39structures, you need time to implement them. But at the old firm, you don't get any time
08:44whatsoever because the pressure to succeed, it's so big. It's win or bust for so many people
08:50who are involved with that club. So that makes a nice life really difficult for Rangers.
08:55I think they can afford to not win the league. I don't think there's many Rangers fans who
09:03truthfully will expect them to win the league this year. I think those fans, though, do want
09:08to see progress. They want to not just see progress in terms of the points difference being closer,
09:13but they want to see progress on the pitch. They want to see a team that plays with an identity,
09:17a team that is able to take care of business against smaller clubs who they struggled with
09:23last season. I think if they can show that, and Russell Martin can entertain the fans with
09:29his brand of football and potentially have a good European run, whether it's Champions League,
09:34Europa 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
09:43to hit the ground running either. So there has to be a degree of wriggle room for Rangers
09:50and patience. But undoubtedly, like anything, there needs to be also a degree of progress.
09:56I think if they can get to the, if Rangers can this season get to the split, still in with
10:02a chance of winning the title, not saying leading the race, but still in the hunt, that would
10:07be a success. You look at the signings they've brought in as well, Matt, they've brought in
10:14a lot. There's been players that will, I think, undoubtedly strengthen the squad. Gassama has
10:18started really, really well. I think he's already kind of getting cult hero status with some
10:22Rangers fans. But up top, you've got Danilo, who's been, look, with all due respect to him,
10:28permitting just for two seasons and not massively impressed, I suppose, in my opinion, when
10:32he has had an extended run, although it's been very few and far between. And there's big
10:37question marks around Deces and Igamane's future. That's totally up in the air. Do they need
10:41to strengthen further forward? And will it be more beneficial to Rangers for either Igamane
10:46or Deces to move on so they can sort of spend that money and open up a spot up front?
10:51They definitely need to strengthen up front if Deces and Igamane leave. That's their, you would
10:58argue, fully fit there ahead of Danilo in the queue.
11:00To 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, Rangers were
11:14lucky to get through, I think, if I'm being honest. The Celtic, the likes of Dyson Maeda,
11:19he'll be licking his lips and rubbing his hands at the moment of passing the ball at the back
11:23Rangers 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
11:32the ball out. It's obviously very early days for Russell Martin and his philosophy.
11:36But, yeah, Rangers still need to strengthen. They've obviously, they have made those eight
11:39new signings, but, and Mikey Moore coming in today, which will be another good one.
11:44Jedi Kassama's 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.
11:53Desses has had a lot of interest as well, and such a polarising figure. Do you really
11:57want to go into another season with Desses leading the line? And all the baggage that
12:01comes around that, they probably do need another centre-forward, given that these things are
12:05going on in the background. And Danilo, for me, would probably, if he stays at the club,
12:10would probably be a number two striker. I don't see him being the one to go and get
12:14the 25-30 goals that Rangers don't need. And I do agree with Mark. I don't think
12:17Rangers 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
12:29he can lose the league the way that Philip Clermont did last season. I don't think we
12:33can have another season at Rangers where, for instance, to go five home games without
12:39winning and losing to team, bottom six teams, left, right and centre. They just can't be
12:45doing that. Russell Martin needs to get his team up and running quickly. And they need
12:49to go neck and neck with Celtic for this title. And showing at least some promise that under
12:56his tenure, they can do something. If it's not going to be this year, then certainly the
13:01year after.
13:02It'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 draw on, I want to say it was Boxing Day, it was around
13:09the New Year's fixtures. Motherwell away, it sounds easy to maybe sell it away or heart's
13:16away, but it's a tricky, banana-skinny fixture, isn't it, for Rangers, really?
13:22Yeah, no.
13:26Please say you both agree.
13:29I'm sure we'll touch on Motherwell later on in the show, but I think they're a different
13:33team this year, our new manager, and they're best players on the way out. I think Rangers
13:38might give Motherwell a doing tomorrow, but who knows? I mean, I could be wrong there.
13:43Rangers haven't won an opening game for the last two seasons. Drew at Hearts, lost to
13:48Calmaric. So there's pressure there to start well, but I think Motherwell away, in the grand
13:55scheme of things, is not a bad fixture. We knew they were going to be away anyway, because
13:58it's flag day, Celtic Park, we have to be away from home. So I think that if you were
14:04to pick somewhere to go, Fair Park probably wouldn't be the worst venue for me. But
14:08Matt may disagree, of course.
14:12Yeah, yeah, I think you're right. I think Rangers will win tomorrow. Motherwell under new management
14:17as well. Like you say, losing Lennon-Miller. I just think they're going to take time to
14:24get up to speed under their new manager as well. And Rangers are more than capable of going
14:28there. We're uncomfortable, I think.
14:31Let's talk about Hearts, Mark, because this is a club in the Scottish Premiership at the
14:38moment where it feels really positive. I was at the game last week when we beat Sunderland
14:423-0 and Craig Gordon's feeling positive and he's injured for however many weeks. Claudio
14:47Braga scoring goals. Shanklin's beginning to look a little bit more like Lauren Shanklin of
14:52maybe the previous seasons. They finished seventh last season. They had a season of three different
14:58managers where Fox comes in twice to be caretaker. Critchley never really fitted. Naismith had
15:06like a poor start and then it turned into a disastrous start and then all of a sudden
15:09the bottom of the league and fighting with Hibs as it was at the time. But the positivity
15:13around Hearts, the structure they seem to have in place, the kind of high-pressing football
15:19we got used to seeing under Derek McInnes is already starting. I think they've got four wins
15:23in the Premier Sports Cup, 12 goals, beat Sunderland 3-0 in Craig Gordon's testimonial.
15:28Are Hearts favourites for third?
15:30I liked how you said beat Sunderland 3-0 through gritted teeth there Graham.
15:35Yes.
15:36We won't linger on that. Are Hearts favourites for third. I was at their press conference
15:43yesterday and we had a wee conversation on the press pack waiting for Derek McInnes to
15:47come and speak to us. Not one journalist thought that Hearts wouldn't finish third. So Hearts are
15:51favourites to finish third. I think there's a multitude of reasons for that. They don't have
15:56a European football. They've had the Premier Sports Cup, as you alluded to, to get ready
16:02for this. They've signed early and their new signings seem to be betting in quite well.
16:06But actually there's just a real feel-good factor around Tyne Castle. There's an anticipation
16:10around Hearts that they're going to do well this season. Derek McInnes, for me, should have
16:16been a Hearts manager long before this summer. He's been an obvious choice for this club for
16:20too long and they finally have him in place. He's just a good fit for Scottish football.
16:26And not every manager appointment is a risk. But this feels the most, the least risky option
16:34the Hearts could have taken. They're not going to, they're not going to, I don't think they're
16:38going to be a team that's going to go undefeated or even potentially challenge the old firm.
16:41I don't think they're good enough yet to do that. But they've got all the right pieces
16:45of the jigsaw in the right place. They've got good centre-halves, they've got strong midfielders,
16:49they've got good wide players and they've got goalscorers. You mentioned Braga and Shankland.
16:54A fit in firing Shankland should be 20 goals this season. I think they're favourites for third
16:59but they're going to face stiff competition for it. I'm fascinated by Monday night's game
17:04game against Aberdeen because Tyne Castle's going to be, it's going to be, it's going
17:09to be like a sort of cauldron on Friday, on Monday night. There's going to be so much
17:13excitement from these fans and they'll want to blow away Aberdeen. They get a statement
17:16result. I think that really sets them off. So for me, they are favourites, but not overwhelming
17:22favourites. I'm really looking forward to the battle for third place. I think Hibbs and
17:26Aberdeen will have a real say on that as well. And yeah, it should be a really intriguing
17:32battle between, in my opinion, the three biggest teams outside of the all-time.
17:37I 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
17:47of maybe some other teams that maybe Hibbs and maybe Aberdeen necessarily don't have,
17:51although, you know, things can change. But Matt, if Hart's off favourites for third,
17:57the direct sort of people are going to be as strong as much challenging them. It's going
18:00to be Hibbs and Aberdeen. And I think that game on Monday between Hart's and Aberdeen
18:04is a great chance for both sides to put a marker down, I think. I know he had a bit
18:08of a, shall we say, a wobble, Jimmy Tallinn, after the kind of brilliant start where you
18:13thought, hang on a minute, are they going to, you know, go for a title challenge? He
18:17ended the season with a trophy, which is massive, and ultimately was a really successful
18:21season for them. For Hibbs, it was like, I always say, relegation battle into revolution
18:27under David Great was just an unbelievable turnaround. And that's really difficult to
18:32keep up, especially with the fact that Trant, as it stands at the moment, hasn't come back
18:36and he was really pivotal to that push towards third place. But will Hibbs and Aberdeen be
18:42as strong as they were last season? Can they build on what they did?
18:46I think Hibbs will. Difficult with
18:52the European situation to know how they'll cope with that. Clubs always seem to struggle
18:56who are trying to get through qualifiers and then get into group stages. There always seems
19:00to be a difficulty with Scottish clubs balancing that. But yeah, I fancy Hibbs to do well again
19:08this season, based on the fact that they've got, for me too, the best young talents in Scottish
19:14football, Kieran Bowie and Josh Mulligan. I think both of these guys will be Scotland
19:21internationals. And by that, I mean starting Scotland internationals in the not too distant
19:28future. Two very, very exciting talents. And the way Mulligan has played in sort of that central
19:36midfield role, I don't think Hibbs have missed Triantis too much so far. Obviously, they did want
19:43to bring him back, but I think Mulligan can go in there and do a similar job. So yeah,
19:50there's that. They've got a strong back line, getting you Bashiri back again. Grant Hanley
19:57in the stands the other night.
19:59Your favourite player, I think?
20:02I don't overly rate Grant Hanley in a Scotland shirt, but I think he could be a not bad signing
20:06for Hibbs in the Scottish Premiership level. I just think Hanley sometimes struggles when
20:12we come up against some of the forward lines that you do in international football, but
20:17I certainly wouldn't be against, if I was a Hibbs fan, wouldn't be against Hibbs signing
20:20Grant Hanley. I just think, and David Gray, the head coach as well, for me is just went in
20:29and taken what was a bit of a basket case club over the last four or five years and really
20:33just made them so strong and organised. Everybody seems to know their roles within the team and
20:41just a great figurehead for the club. So yeah, I fancy Hibbs to do well. Aberdeen, I fear
20:45for them at Tencastle on Monday. I just, I don't know. Hearts have, like Mark said, done their
20:49business early. Getting Shanklin back, what a massive signing that is. The manager himself,
20:56for me, probably the signing of the summer. Same as you, Mark, I think Hearts should have
21:01stopped mucking about, as they have been with their appointments over the last few years
21:06and just went for McInnes. They could have saved themselves a lot of pain, I think. I
21:09don't think they'd have been bottom six last season if McInnes had been appointed way back
21:13when Naismith was appointed. That was the time, I think, that they should have got McInnes
21:16in. Naismith, obviously coming up from the B team. That was the point to bring McInnes in
21:22and Hearts would be fine by now. But yeah, I do fancy them to do well. Some of their
21:26signings have really caught the eye. Claudio Braga scoring plenty of goals. And Aberdeen,
21:31obviously 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.
21:40Obviously after the AC Milan boy at the moment. Was it Lazatic? We'll see if they can get
21:48him in. He might be his replacement, but I just look at their signings and it's just
21:54players that we don't really know a lot about. So I may have been a bit unfair in saying that
21:58I feel for them on Monday. I just think Hearts seem to be in a much better place. They've
22:02had the Premier Sports Cup to really get themselves well-oiled and in competitive football mode.
22:08When I look at Aberdeen's pre-season, I don't really see much activity there.
22:12There was a training camp in the Algarve and a couple of friendlies. I just think there
22:18may be a wee bit undercooked for what you say, Mark. It's going to be a pretty raucous
22:22timecastle on Monday. Looking at Dundee United, they had a massive win yesterday, Mark. St.
22:28Mirren have had three consecutive top six finishers now. Best of the rest? Or do you think they
22:33can be challenged by, you know, you've got Motherwell, Killy, you've also got Dundee under Stephen
22:38Presley under that as well? Can any of them challenge? Or is it Dundee United and St.
22:41Mirren? 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 Hearts, Aberdeen and Hibs. Essentially not in that order, but
22:54they've spent so much money over the past couple of seasons where they pull away from the rest,
23:00but don't get much closer to the old firm. And I'd be very surprised. It would take an underperformance
23:06from one of those three clubs to not be in the top five. So then you're going, right,
23:11there's one place left in the top six. If you believe in that theory, one place left in
23:14the top six. You're right, St. Mirren have been in it for the past three seasons. Can they
23:19make it four? I mean, that would be a remarkable achievement for Stephen Robinson, just given
23:22what resource he has to play with. But St. Mirren look the same St. Mirren that I've watched
23:27for the past three seasons. I caught their game against Ayr on Sunday in the Cup on TV,
23:31and he's looked physical, well-organised. I would really like Cillian Phillips. I think
23:35he should be an important player this season. He kind of epitomises what Samir Norland is
23:40about. Dundee United, conversely, have signed so many new players. I've actually lost count
23:46of how many players, and I've certainly lost count of how many different nationalities
23:49have come in. It's like a United Nations going on in paradise. Now, these players could be
23:54really good. We just don't know yet. I'm pleased they got through against Strasen, because
23:58that would have really set them back, and I've got a lot of time for Jim Goodwin. I
24:02think he's done a really good job there. So, bit of an unknown quantity. I think it's
24:06probably between them and St. Mirren right now for that last place in the top six as
24:11we're talking just now. Cam Motherwell and Kilmarnock get in the conversation. New managers
24:18at both clubs. Stuart Kettlewell at Kilmarnock. They actually didn't consider a goal in the
24:21Premier Sports Cup. Kind of got under the radar a little bit, Kilmarnock. And they've got a very
24:26exciting young player in Ben Branham. He's just signed a new contract. Left-sided player.
24:30A lot of talk about him. But how did Kilmarnock perform without Derek McInnes in charge? I think
24:38that's a fascinating notion. Motherwell with Jens Bertolasco in charge, a bit of an unknown
24:46as well. My fear for Motherwell is that if you take Leonard Miller out of that team, there's
24:49a lack of stardust. And that stardust has made them safe for the past couple of seasons.
24:55So we'll need to see how they go. And I think you mentioned Dundee as well. New manager Steven
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
25:15about. Lyle Cameron off to the Rangers. Even Mo Siller going to Livingston. The captain,
25:21Joe Shaughnessy, went to Australia. So Dundee are not the Dundee team that we watched last
25:26season. I think we were all really impressed with Dundee last season. So I don't see them,
25:31those three clubs, really being in the conversation for top five. I'm not even sure I see them being
25:35in the conversation for the top six. I wonder if those three clubs are just going to try
25:40and keep their head above water. It's going to be competitive at the bottom of the league
25:44this year because there are a couple of teams that have come up that we'll just talk about
25:48in a second who are going to really give it a good shot. I find the bottom half of the league
25:53just as fascinating as the top half this season. I think it'll be ultra competitive.
25:58I think Simon Murray will have an awful lot resting on your shoulders this year in terms
26:03of that relegation battle, I think, because probably the best goal scorer down that side
26:08of the league. But Livy and Falkirk, Livy back up, Matt, we kind of know what we get from
26:13Livy a little bit, or a different team, I suppose, but we know what we get from David
26:16Martindale, shall we say. And Falkirk, two phenomenal seasons. And I think you see it
26:21continuously that when a club has such a good two years or three years, like momentum
26:27kind of drags them further forward. And a good start can sometimes keep their heads
26:31above water. And then when it levels out a bit, that can change. But how do you feel
26:35Livingston and Falkirk will do? Have they got enough to stay up? I mean, obviously, I think
26:39they will be involved down the bottom. I think they'll either just escape or be involved in
26:44it. 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 and languishing in League One. And to
27:05take them up back to back, just a fantastic achievement. And mostly with the same squad,
27:13I think. They got promoted in League One. They went and did the same in the Championship.
27:18And I'm not seeing too much evidence of a lot of influx of sign-ins either this summer
27:22from 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
27:34run. And this could be the time that it really starts to get quite difficult for them. But
27:39I have so much admiration for John McGlynn. And the job he did at Raythrowers before that
27:43as well was fantastic. Really unfortunate with his time at heart, the way that went with
27:49financial difficulties and stuff. I just think he's such an underrated manager. Maybe not
27:52underrated now. I think he's rated quite highly. But he had been quite underrated for a lot
27:56of years. And they'll come up and they'll just try to play the same way. They'll play an
28:01exciting brand of football on the deck mostly. And Brad Spencer as well. I noticed in the last
28:09few weeks they've got him re-signed, a really important pivot in the midfield there for them
28:13dictates games. I'm imagining clubs in the Premiership would have been looking at him.
28:17So that's a big re-signing. And Brian Graham was an interesting one as well. Championship
28:22top school for the past couple of seasons. Has he still got it in him to make an impact
28:27on the Premiership level? We'll see. So yeah, I'm not too sure. I think they're up against
28:33it, 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 at Livingston's surface
28:43over the years, but they've replaced it now. So just in time for it being the last season
28:48that we're going to have artificial pitches in the Premiership, unless something changes
28:52there. So yeah, interested to see how they do. They've made a lot more signings than Falkirk
28:59have. They finished the season strong last year, so a lot of momentum behind Livingston as
29:03well. Yeah, 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
29:16in the relegation season. But they obviously had a few bits of financial difficulties going
29:20on there as well. But obviously new owners, they've made a few signings this summer. David
29:26Martindale was very experienced, knows the Premiership has been pushing for the top six before. Maybe a
29:31surprise package there. Who knows? I think momentum's massive, isn't it? Just if you lose those
29:37first couple of games, then you go, oh no. If you win the first couple, you go, oh, European
29:41push. And look, Dundee United did it last year, so why not? Why not dream about it? But Mark,
29:47Matt, thanks very much for joining. Really excited to get the sort of season underway. I
29:50know we've had the Premier Sports Cup games, but there's nothing better than sort of league
29:53fixtures in my opinion. But thanks for joining. Thank you.
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