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Wednesday 11 September 2024 11:54, UK
It is shaping up to be another dramatic season in the Scottish Premiership, but where will your club finish?
Well, with the summer transfer window now closed, we asked Sky Sports pundits Kris Boyd and Chris Sutton to predict where each side will end up and here's what they said...
Kris Boyd - 3rd
I'm purely saying this based on the start the other teams have made as I'm not getting carried away with Aberdeen. They've had a good start but they are yet to face any really tough opponents. They have a run of fixtures that will be difficult for them. Having lost someone like Bojan Miovski, I can't see them keeping this form for long. They do have a points gap on the rest but they will be dragged back into it. I am still to be convinced by them.
Chris Sutton - 3rd
Jimmy Thelin has brought in one or two players he knows well which will really help. They've been a topsy-turvy team in the last few seasons where they've had patches where they're done really well, then the wheels came off. They seem to have taken their time in appointing Jimmy Thelin and he's a builder of clubs. He built Elfsborg and it took him three years to get them to a really decent level and he'll be hoping to do the same with Aberdeen who are a big club, but they're striving for consistency. I think splitting the Old Firm isn't going to happen, it's a great start for him but let's not get too carried away just yet.
Kris Boyd - 1st
Even I've been impressed by the way Celtic have started the season and that takes a lot for me to say that! I just get the feeling they're going to have too much. The business they've done, they're strong enough and they will win the league by a good few points.
Chris Sutton - 1st
They've started the domestic season really strongly and fast. Brendan is back in his second season and I think it has been a smooth pre-season for Celtic. They'll have to cope with the demands of Champions League football as well, hence why it was important to bring new players in. Brendan's strongest suit is coaching and developing players so I think they'll be happy with the work they've done in the window and they're still the team to beat.
Kris Boyd - 4th
They are stronger than last season. The addition of Simon Murray will bring real pace at the top end of the pitch. Losing Luke McCowan is a huge blow for them but I feel as if they've got enough in that area. Lyall Cameron might now see an opportunity to go and flourish, so there are players to fill that void. It's not going to be easy, of course they're going to miss someone like McCowan who has moved for £1m, but I think Dundee have shown they are a top-six team.
Chris Sutton - 6th
Their big issue is losing Luke McCowan and how they'll cope without him. They surprised me last season, I think I had them relegated which shows what I know! Tony Docherty is shrewd and knows the game well, learning and absorbing lots during his time as Derek McInnes' assistant and he sets his teams up really well. I'm mightily impressed with them. They've got Lyall Cameron who is a decent player and bringing in Simon Murray is a really good piece of business.
Kris Boyd - 9th
The start that Jim Goodwin and his team has made has been impressive. I do have them in the bottom six because new teams often drop off. I might be a million miles away though because Tannadice is a difficult place to go and they have started really well. Jim's recruitment has been good again, David Babunksi and Kristijan Trapanovski have been strong additions to the squad. Jim also has a point to prove and there is a lot riding on this for his career as well.
Chris Sutton - 10th
Jim Goodwin's done well to get them back up and they were really busy in the transfer market. It has been a rebuilding job at Tannadice with 13 new signings over the summer and some have impressed already, but it will take time for them all to gel. They have made a strong start to the campaign with two wins and two draws but I think they will struggle to maintain that form. Dundee United are a big club though and they have enough to stay up.
Kris Boyd - 5th
I've been very disappointed by Hearts so far. They've played two European games in addition to their domestic duties, it's not as if it has been a hard shift for them. Do I fear for Steven Naismith? Yes, if their poor run continues for another week or so. They're going to have to start getting results. I'm predicting fifth purely on the size of the club and the expectations because right now they're a million miles away from where they should be, but I do think they will improve.
Chris Sutton - 4th
Just because they've had a bad start doesn't mean it's over. I do think Steven Naismith did a great job last season and I they've got a really decent squad. They are in the Conference League too and that balance may be tricky for them. Keeping Lawrence Shankland is a big deal, they do have reasonable strength and depth and they'll get it together soon. When they do, they'll go on a run. I'm not going to write Hearts off after four games. I do think there's a need for patience from the fans.
Kris Boyd - 8th
I just think the trends are still there, the excuses have already started about a lot of players being out of contract at the end of this season and they might be able to clear up the mess the hierarchy have created then. Short term they're going to suffer for that. I thought they would have improved but at this moment in time, I'm just not sure.
Chris Sutton - 9th
I like Hibs as a football club. They've had so much turmoil and gone through so many managers recently, there hasn't been that patience and now David Gray is in charge, who knows the club well. You can't just keep overhauling a squad, bringing in new players then changing a manager. I don't know whether there will be patience this season and Hibs fans will say a bottom-six finish represents a poor season, but they need to make small steps. It will be another difficult season for them.
Kris Boyd - 6th
If there has been one team that has been hindered by European games, it's Kilmarnock. Derek McInnes knows how to get results and I would be absolutely astonished if their form doesn't start improving now that Europe is over. Yes, it's been a slow start, but I think they will still have enough to finish in the top six.
Chris Sutton - 5th
I really admire the job Derek McInnes has done at Rugby Park. He overachieved massively last season and they gave it a go in the Conference League qualifiers. His issue is they can't afford to pick up too many injuries. They got a going over at Celtic Park in the first game of the season but he had half a team. Everyone knows it will eventually click for them and they've got battle-hardened players with a sprinkle of real class. They'll certainly pick up points and results and I'm pretty sure they'll do it sooner rather than later.
Kris Boyd - 10th
When you look at what they've lost, it could be a tough season ahead. Theo Bair is very difficult to replace, they do have some good youngsters there but I look at the team and wonder where the goals will come from. They have added Tony Watt but you wonder is that just a case of scrambling around to get someone towards the end of the transfer window? They could easily lose Lennon Miller in January. With all the changes, if they manage to finish at least 10th it will be a successful season.
Chris Sutton - 8th
It could be any order from eighth downwards. Of course, Motherwell lost a lot of goals with the departure of Theo Bair, he was their outstanding player last season. There have also been a lot of injuries to players who would be first picks, so immediately Stuart Kettlewell is on the back foot. I do, though, think he'll get them organised and they will do ok this season.
Kris Boyd - 2nd
I knew it was going to be a tough season, I didn't think it would be as tough as this. I still think they'll have more than the rest but I don't think it's going to be as easy as it's been over the last few years to get that second place. Once the season settles down a bit and players get up to match speed, they'll be ok. Once injuries start to hit the smaller teams that's when you see the bigger ones pull away. Rangers will have more than enough to finish second but I don't think they have enough to challenge Celtic.
Chris Sutton - 2nd
Philippe Clement says Rangers will get better but they are still a work in progress. There's been such an overhaul and a messy summer and they're going to take time to gel. Whether Clement gets the time remains to be seen. He'll want his team to be hanging on in there and just staying on Celtic's coattails but then, as the season progresses, look to really hit a rhythm and find his way past them. It is fairer to judge Clement this season rather than last season when he inherited a real mess. This season it's his team and there will be no excuses.
Kris Boyd - 12th
Do we see Roy McGregor going and splashing the cash again to try and keep them in the top flight? Maybe. If that's the case I then fear for St Johnstone. At this moment I just think that Ross County are the ones who will go straight down.
Chris Sutton - 11th
Ross County always finish 11th! Don Cowie is quite a quiet and unassuming guy and he's got a tough job. An overhaul of players every season and that makes it difficult to get the team organised. Losing Yan Dhanda is a blow for them because he was so influential. They will probably stay up via the play offs again.
Kris Boyd - 11th
The strikers will be the ones that keep them in that play-off spot. Craig Levein just has a knack of finding that result whenever he needs one and you get the feeling it could be the same again this season. He might just have enough to keep them up, but a lot of that will depend on Ross County.
Chris Sutton - 12th
Craig Levein's got a difficult job at St Johnstone. They've got a couple of lively centre forwards and holding onto Adama Sidibeh is a huge plus, but I think that this season will be too much for them. It has already been a tough start with three defeats from their opening four games and it is hard to see them picking up too many wins this season.
Kris Boyd - 7th
They are a big physical team and they will cause a lot of sides problems, but I just feel others will have that little bit extra to push above them to get into the top six. St Mirren could sneak in and upset my predictions but I worry about them at the top end of the pitch. They don't have an out-and-out goalscorer and that is why I feel they might just struggle to get into the top half of the table.
Chris Sutton - 7th
I don't know why I'm writing them off. They're effective when they get it right, but I don't think they have a great deal of flair in the team. There has been a fair bit of change at St Mirren and although Stephen Robinson has brought in a lot of promising signings, he also lost a few. I think the manager has overachieved, he's gone in there and done well but I think they'll just miss out.
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