Football Season Guide

An incredible season for St Mirren was followed by a huge overhaul over the summer. Despite being promoted to the Scottish Premiership as Championship winners, the Buddies were hit with the sucker blow that manager Jack Ross had chosen to move to Sunderland ahead of the new campaign. He's quickly been replaced by Alan Stubbs, who has wasted no time at all in revamping the squad. Huge losses to the side have occurred, with the likes of Lewis Morgan, Gavin Reilly, Harry Davis, and Liam Smith leaving to name a few. However, Stubbs has used his database down south to recruit what looks to be a very tidy bunch of players. Paul McGinn, Hayden Coulson, and Cole Kpekawa have all been first-choices in a new-look back four. Some sloppy goals have been given away in the Betfred Cup so far, but they look to be forging stronger relationships with each game. Josh Heaton is another one that Stubbs will look to at centre-back if necessary. The midfield has rotated massively throughout the group stages of the Betfred Cup. Stubbs has used different systems, with every midfielder in the first-team squad getting run-outs. Jeff King will look to add some flair down the left, but has a tough task replacing the heroic figure of Morgan. Cammy Smith and Daniel Mullen look to be the main men up front, with Cody Cooke coming in from Truro City and looking to break into the striking partnership. This is where the Buddies look weak heading into the new season. A real lack of goals despite their free-flowing football has been an occurrence in pre-season. It's no surprise Stubbs has targeted a "marquee" signing up top, as it will help take the burden off of the young front-men who are untested at this level. St Mirren are continuing to play an attractive style of football. However, goals are still deserting them as they look to battle through life after Morgan. Defensively they're forging a good unit, but the occasional individual mistake has crept into their work at the back, and that's something that will need to be rectified before the league season starts.