The Football Show LIVE I Which managers will impress most this season ? Scottish football is back!

Scottish Football

The Scottish Premiership is back! We take a look at which managers impress us the most as well as a full analysis of this weekend's Scottish Premiership fixtures.  SUBSCRIBE: ‪@ScottishFootballRadioShow On Youtube  Also on The Football Show LIVE:  St Mirren progress in their Europa Conference League qualifiers; Full reaction to Cercle Brugge 1-0 Kilmarnock; Preview of all of this weekend's Scottish Premiership fixtures including Celtic v Kilmarnock and Hearts v Rangers; Philippe Clement signs a new contract as Rangers manager; The latest Celtic FC summer transfer news and rumours; Our Scottish Championship predictions; And much more!  The Football Show Live Highlights:  00:00 Intro - The Football Show LIVE 00:01:40 St Mirren 4-1 Valur  00:04:25 Cercle Brugge 1-0 Kilmarnock  00:06:00 St Mirren v Hibernian preview 00:09:16 Scottish Premiership fixtures 00:10:08 Philippe Clement Rangers contract extension 00:16:19 Ibrox Stadium closed 00:19:07 Hearts v Rangers preview 00:29:04 Scottish football headlines 00:30:11 Celtic FC transfer news and rumours 00:34:54 Celtic v Kilmarnock preview 00:38:11 Motherwell v Ross County preview 00:46:24 Dundee Utd v Dundee preview 00:50:57 St Johnstone v Aberdeen preview 00:57:51 Scottish Championship predictions  If you love Scottish football as much as we do then we highly recommend you subscribe to @ScottishFootballRadioShow on youtube.

Transcript

00:00:00The Football Show on PLZ Soccer's YouTube channel. I'm Peter Martin, Alan Ruff, Tam McManus

00:00:13and Ryan McGowan here with us on a Friday. You did actually just tease it on Wednesday

00:00:18on the programme. Tam, are you happy with our defensive cover? I am. I played with Gowser

00:00:23at the early 90s, apart from being a jambo, he's a good lad. But he'll be a good addition

00:00:27and he's got an opinion. So that's what we're needing in a show. Well, I've never met an

00:00:31introverted Australian in my life, Ruffie, have you? They're like the Dutch. We're about

00:00:37to find out in the next couple of weeks if he really is Australian. I'm sure he'll be

00:00:41put on the spot quite soon, as we start talking about the season. Yeah, absolutely. Thank

00:00:45you to you for joining us, especially the support you supplied over the course of last

00:00:50season. The figures were absolutely magnificent. And of course, as ever, this season we will

00:00:55be bringing you lots of programme content, unique video content for you to engage with.

00:01:01If you hit the subscribe button, you'll join the football family. If you download the app,

00:01:05you'll get it all at your fingertips as well as being able to watch live on your phone.

00:01:10So Monday to Friday, of course, we'll have the programmes and on the Saturday and Sunday,

00:01:16all our staff will be out there at the key games, keeping you right up to date with managers

00:01:20and players' interviews and reaction after the game as well. Lots to look forward to

00:01:27and a rollercoaster season. So we start with optimism, hopefully, and then eventually Scottish

00:01:33football will wear us down. You can engage with us as well and give us your thoughts.

00:01:37So let's start on a positive note. What a fantastic result, Ruffie, for St Mirren in

00:01:42Europe. Yeah, we say it every year, you know, we need some of the smaller clubs away from

00:01:47Rangers and Celtic to do well. We need points, you know, to get more teams into the competition.

00:01:52So it's a great start for them, you know, and I'm sure they'll be looking, the supporters

00:01:57will be absolutely looking forward to the season. Yeah, I mean, when I look at Mark

00:02:01O'Hara's goal, it was an absolute belter. And they just went about their job efficiently,

00:02:063-0 of a cushion. We were all worried about the penalty, but other than that, really good.

00:02:11Yeah, I thought they started the game really strongly. I thought the first 15, 20 minutes

00:02:15they could have been a couple of goals up. You know what you're getting from St Mirren,

00:02:18they're pretty direct. They get the ball in the box, they make defenders defend. And they

00:02:22just out-muscled Villou for me. I think they were too physical for them. But they've got

00:02:26quality as well. I think O'Hara is a very talented player and two or three of their

00:02:31new signings last night looked good as well. So I agree with Ruffie, I think if you're

00:02:35a St Mirren fan, you know, you're looking at that game last night and you're really

00:02:38encouraged by what you're seeing and you're going into a big game against Hibs at the

00:02:41weekend, hoping to start the league campaign good as well.

00:02:44Yeah, absolutely. 4-1 was the overall score. Steven Robinson himself, first to admit, great

00:02:51getting the result. SK Brand now lying in wait next week. Again, I expect all of the

00:02:57St Mirren fans to turn out in great numbers because it was a sell-out. It was fantastic,

00:03:01the atmosphere.

00:03:02Yeah, I think it's a perfect stadium for them for these occasions. They obviously got the

00:03:07reward with how well they did last season. Again, I think they'll be definitely in the

00:03:12top six this season with the boys that they've brought in, plus that continuity of being

00:03:17successful last year. I think no additions will really help that.

00:03:20Yeah, Steven Robinson himself, European football is one thing, but he has to refocus the team

00:03:25on domestic issues.

00:03:26I always think there's a lot of people here that have put a lot of work into this football

00:03:30club. Long before I was here, they've seen bad times, they've seen good times. And these

00:03:35are the moments you have to savour as a fan, and I think it's important that you do that.

00:03:38I believe the fans know every last drop out of it tonight, and still probably will be

00:03:41in horns and flops and cones around Basley. So, we're delighted for them. My job now is

00:03:47when your expectations rise and you're a good side, you've got another really tough game

00:03:51on Saturday. So, for this moment in time, I have to put that to bed, the European side

00:03:55of things, and concentrate on a really dangerous hipside.

00:03:59We're big fans of Steven Robinson. He's been on the show, Roffy. I'll tell you, I think

00:04:04Rooney's a great signing for them.

00:04:05Yeah, he certainly is. He's done well, identifying that he's wanting a change for down in England

00:04:11to come back up here. We saw what he did with St Johnson, scoring goals in important big

00:04:16games. So, yep, wide player, gets into the box, and scores goals as he did the other

00:04:22night there. So, yeah, I think he'll be a good asset to them.

00:04:25If that's the high, the low, Tam, is what I was trying to stay positive. I think we

00:04:30had a sneaky feeling that maybe Kilmarnock had shot their ball by not getting a lead

00:04:35at Rugby Park, and so it proved what a terrible goal to lose.

00:04:40Yeah, it's a disaster for them at the back. It's a real poor error for the defender. They're

00:04:46punished. Serco Brugge missed apparently as well. You thought after that they could go

00:04:49and get back into the game, but I actually watched the first hour of the game and I thought

00:04:53Brugge were by far the better team. I thought Kilmarnock came into it towards the end where

00:04:56they had nothing to lose, they had to score. But I think over the two legs, probably Brugge

00:05:00deserved it. But Kilmarnock, for me, you're right, they had to take a lead over there.

00:05:04I think at home on that pitch, they're difficult to beat if they take a 2-1 lead over there.

00:05:08It's a different game. But to go over there and expect them to win the game was a big

00:05:13ask and they're obviously still in it. They've dropped down into the conference against Tromso.

00:05:18Both teams are against Norwegian outfits now, so hopefully they can both get through, but

00:05:22they'll be tough. Norwegian league's probably similar to ours in terms of standard.

00:05:26Did you miss the last half hour with the detector bank in Brugge?

00:05:29Well, that's not true. Honestly, you'll never believe this. I'm just going to say to you,

00:05:34if he only watches a game for an hour, it means his multiple satellites on the roof

00:05:39are not picking up the game, Ryan, just in case you're worried about how the hell he

00:05:44managed to get that game when none of us could get it.

00:05:47I watched Gowser when he was playing in Kuwait and all that in China. Have I given the game

00:05:51on that stick?

00:05:53Absolutely unbelievable, Tam. Anyway, apart from everything else, it's a great result

00:06:00for St Mirren. They're up against Hibs and I'm looking at that game and I'm saying to

00:06:05myself, as your old side, Tam, if anything, the worry. Do you like to start a season with

00:06:13positivity? Do you like to see signings? Fans like to get enthusiastic. There's been a wee

00:06:19bit of unrest in the background, which I think has not helped David May.

00:06:22No, it hasn't. Obviously, it comes from Bill Foley's comments about David and Malky Mackay.

00:06:29They started the season pretty well. An emphatic win against Queen's Park. Then they lost away

00:06:33to Celtic, which was a shocker. He rested some players. I think the players that come

00:06:37in, they're not the standard. If Hibs are wanting to challenge for third and fourth,

00:06:41they're not the standard player that Hibs need. The fans are screaming for new signings

00:06:47every day. Where's the signings? They've signed the goalkeeper in two centre-halves, which

00:06:53was an area they had to strengthen, but they need a striker and they've only got Dylan

00:06:56Venti there. They need maybe two strikers. They need a wide player. They need a number

00:07:02ten type as well. There's a lot of work to do at Hibs and this is going to be a really

00:07:06difficult game at the weekend. St Mirren in flying form, great result in Europe. The whole

00:07:12town seems to be buzzing. The players are confident. I think they've got to stand up

00:07:17to the challenge at St Mirren as well. I've seen them last night. They're a big side,

00:07:19a big physical side. If Hibs don't stand up to that, Peter, I think they'll get bullied

00:07:23and they'll lose the game. They've got to first and foremost match St Mirren physically

00:07:28and then try and play their football after that.

00:07:30That's the key element here. Fans want a lift. They have that expectation. They have that

00:07:35demand. It didn't quite work out last year. No matter what Nick Montgomery tried, it was

00:07:41maybe a one and a half decent game and then two defeats.

00:07:44I think historically Hibs struggle with consistency throughout the season. They always seem to

00:07:51start the season really well and then it's almost as the bad weather comes in, they struggle

00:07:55a little bit. Like what Tom says, I think they are missing probably one massive big

00:08:01signing to get everybody together and get everybody in that direction. I've no doubt

00:08:07that David Gray is looking for that type of player, a proper number nine or a ten. Sometimes

00:08:13you need to wait a little bit longer to see which players are available. It might be a

00:08:17loan, it might be a few other options. Like what Tom says, I think they definitely need

00:08:21to bring in at least three or four starters.

00:08:24By the time you get to the end of August, Ruffey, suddenly people's mood has already

00:08:29changed. They've already started to make those judgements whether there's a new face in or

00:08:34not.

00:08:35I don't think David Gray is under pressure but I think the fans are expecting a lot more

00:08:40from last year. Last year was horrendous in the bottom six most of the season. He's

00:08:45went in there now and the expectation, because Hibs are a massive club, the support and demand

00:08:51that you're up there, you're getting long cup runs and everything. I don't think they'll

00:08:55accept another start to the season that they had last year. I think their voice will be

00:09:01heard. The sooner he gets more players in and a settled team and winning games consistently

00:09:06then they'll still be in the background. Tom will tell you that they're just not happy

00:09:12at all if they're not winning games.

00:09:14Absolutely. Here's how St Mirren against Hibs fits into our fixture list for the opening

00:09:19games of the Scottish Premiership season. We'll also look at Championship League 1,

00:09:24League 2 and of course Ryan getting ready with his new club Livingston. We'll get his

00:09:29thoughts on that a little later in the programme but it's Harps against Rangers the early kick-off

00:09:34then. Motherwell-Ross County, Dundee United against Dundees on the Sunday. Really looking

00:09:39forward to that one. St Mirren against Hibs, Celtic against Kilmarnock unfurling the Championship

00:09:45flag and on that day I think it'll be fairly emotional for Celtic fans with Lisbon line

00:09:51Jim Craig unfurling the title winning flag. Then on the Monday it's Ryan's old club St

00:09:58Johnstone against Aberdeen. So that's the fixture list we've got to look forward to.

00:10:04First and foremost the big news coming out, certainly caught a few people by surprise,

00:10:09it was coming out of Rangers where Philippe Clement has signed a new extended deal at

00:10:16Ibrox. Well have the Rangers fans were excited by that? Are they excited by all the new players

00:10:22as well? We sent our intrepid reporter Patrick Mullen out there today to find out.

00:10:28The Rangers have announced this morning that Philippe Clement has extended his contract

00:10:31as Rangers boss, keeping him here at the club until the summer of 2028. Speaking this afternoon

00:10:37Clement spoke about his excitement to get the deal over the line and cannot wait to

00:10:41build something special as Rangers boss.

00:10:43And then the club said that they wanted to be sure that I would stay for the longer term,

00:10:49that they wanted that in many ways, not only to coach a team or to train a team but also

00:10:57for the other things around. To have ideas, to discuss, to work around that. And I feel

00:11:06good here. I love this place, I love this club, I love the city, I love the fans, I

00:11:12love the atmosphere in Ibrox or the fans who are in away games. So it was my feeling also

00:11:21to do it longer term and not to sit and wait until something more interesting comes in my mind.

00:11:30Rangers have been busy in the transfer window this summer with nine new signings now confirmed

00:11:35to be joining the club. Philippe Clement says it will take time for some of them to gel

00:11:39and has asked for patience from the Rangers fans.

00:11:41It's logical, yes, that there needs to be patience but it doesn't mean that some things

00:11:46can click really fast. That's always the challenge. You have players who adapt really

00:11:51fast and who step into the building and a week later they show their best football.

00:11:57You have players who need weeks, some players need months to get used to things.

00:12:05I don't know one manager in the world who can predict that.

00:12:09It's the moment we've all been waiting for, the Scottish Premiership gets underway tomorrow

00:12:13afternoon. It's a 12.30 kick-off at Tyne Castle Park where it's Harder Midlothian versus Rangers.

00:12:18Yes, I like that from managers. We just need a bit of time. I think Philippe Clement will

00:12:23get time up until the 1st of September when the first Celtic Rangers match comes around.

00:12:28Very hot Saturday.

00:12:29Yes, absolutely, by the time the Hearts Rangers game finishes. I do think, to be fair to him,

00:12:37that this is going to be his side now. There was a Michael Beale fallout, there was him

00:12:43trying to steady the ship and then eventually the expectation that the squad that he inherited

00:12:48couldn't deliver. So, to be fair to him, he's got an extended deal which came out of left field, Ryan.

00:12:55Yes, I think that shows massive faith in him, not only, but also shows the players that

00:13:00if he's going out to sign players on two, three-year contracts, they know that security

00:13:05of the manager that they're signing for will be there probably for that duration of their contract.

00:13:09So, I sometimes think, we spoke about Hibbs, that's been their cycle of one manager signing

00:13:16three or four players, the next manager comes in, doesn't want them. Rangers now are trying

00:13:21to get a bit of stability within the club with that new signing and, like he said, he's

00:13:26bringing nine new players in who, now if they don't perform, questions can be asked of him

00:13:30because they are his players that he's brought in.

00:13:32And of the nine, there is absolutely, I think, no point in turning round as we get older

00:13:40on the tooth, Tam, and saying this is one that's a really good signing, this is going to be great.

00:13:44Connor Barron we know about because we know his capabilities, he can score, he can drive

00:13:49from the middle of the park. The rest of them, you just have to wait and see how they adapt

00:13:55to Scottish football, if they can hit the ground running, if they can adapt quickly.

00:13:59Yeah, and it's totally different, I think, playing for the old firm. I think that you've

00:14:02got to come in and hit the ground running. I think a lot of Rangers supporters last season

00:14:05had made their minds up about some of the players that came in early doors, Lammers

00:14:10and Dessers in particular, for the money that they paid, I think they'd written them off

00:14:13after two or three games. And it'll be the same again, there's instant judgements in

00:14:18football now, not just in Celtic football, but in terms of just overall football, people

00:14:22make judgements straight away. Two or three games and that, don't fancy them, it's difficult

00:14:26to change that mindset back with supporters. He's got a lot of new players, he spoke about

00:14:30patience there, I don't think managers at Celtic Rangers get patience from the fans,

00:14:34I think that they've got a very difficult game tomorrow and then they've got a double

00:14:38header against Kiev and then they've got Celtic away on the horizon. I think he'll be delighted

00:14:43he's signed a new deal, but if it doesn't go well in this month then I think a lot of

00:14:48supporters will be criticising him and he'll be under pressure, that's just the way it

00:14:51is in Glasgow.

00:14:53Second is nowhere, Ruffey, but what I would say is he's got to try, I think, or hopefully

00:14:58look towards John Bennett. The comments that he made over the last week was basically stability,

00:15:05give the manager time to build his side, no short-term thinking, long-term view, especially

00:15:11with incoming and outgoing. There's no doubt Rangers are going to try and replicate that

00:15:17blueprint that Celtic have in operation. It's whether they can successfully do that with

00:15:22a recruitment team in place and of course you've also got to engineer out some of the

00:15:27high earners and some of the people who are not happy. One of them, of course, I don't

00:15:31think we'll see Todd Cantwell in the near future in a Rangers jersey again, I think

00:15:36he might have kicked his last ball for them.

00:15:37Yeah, well I think early on, you know, I think he already made his mind up that he was one

00:15:43of the players that didn't fit into the way he wanted his players to perform. I think

00:15:47it was a European Cup tie, he took him off after 20-25 minutes because he wasn't doing

00:15:52the instructions he'd been told. I think until the end of the season he was sort of in-out

00:15:57but you could tell right away that it wasn't his kind of player. I think the board have

00:16:03bought into everything he's done and quite rightly so. He's told them they can't carry

00:16:07on giving players big money and then letting them go. There needs to be a structure of

00:16:11younger players coming in and getting them on three and four years. So the board have

00:16:15bought into everything he's been telling them and that's why he's got that contract.

00:16:18Yeah, will it be a pain playing at Hamden when they eventually get their first home

00:16:24game because, you know, listen, good players can play anywhere Ryan but I can remember

00:16:30the Celtic players saying they'd lost their soul playing in 1995 I think it was at Hamden

00:16:36when Celtic Park was under renovation.

00:16:39I definitely think it'll be different. It might be not better for the new players coming

00:16:44in but they don't have that, you know, Ibrox is right on you and it is a tough place to

00:16:49play as an opposition player but sometimes it can be just as tough if you're a home player.

00:16:54So maybe Hamden, you know, the fans are a little bit further away from the pitch.

00:16:58You can't hear them.

00:17:04It might just give them that little bit of breathing space to, you know, get their foot

00:17:07in the door and be able to play and then whenever Ibrox is eventually ready then they

00:17:12can sort of have a few performances behind them to get back into there.

00:17:16Give us an insight from a player when you're playing in an intimidating atmosphere. Is

00:17:22it difficult to try and slow that heart rate down and to do the things that you've been

00:17:27taught as a footballer throughout your career?

00:17:30Probably the wrong one to ask because I used to be petrified of the ball when I was younger.

00:17:36Keep it away from me but, yeah, you know, I played at, I remember I think it was one

00:17:40of the first games of the season at Ibrox and they just won the league so they had the

00:17:45flag and it was my first start for Hearts and I remember being like, well, this is a

00:17:50different ball game altogether when you've got, it felt like the whole stadium was bouncing.

00:17:55The game starts and it's just a bit of an absolute whirlwind so as an opposition player

00:18:00it was difficult but I think a player for Rangers or Celtic and that kind of atmosphere

00:18:05is all for you. I think it definitely gives you a lift when you're playing there week

00:18:09in, week out.

00:18:10You seem to relish it. They hated you anyway. You hit an absolute raker at Ibrox.

00:18:15No, I loved it. I got myself really up for those games. It was the other games that I

00:18:21struggled in. I felt as if there was no pressure on going to Celtic and Rangers and that's

00:18:26where I played my best football because as I said, nobody's expecting us as a club to

00:18:31do anything or me to do anything. Why not just go out and try stuff and come off sometimes

00:18:36but Ryan's right, if you lose an early goal at these places, it can soon get away from

00:18:42you and I remember getting beat 6-0 at Parkhead. I've got beat 5 at Rangers so if they get

00:18:49the fans behind them early doors, the complete opposite is if you score first as an away

00:18:53player. You can feel the nervousness, you can hear the fans on their back and you think

00:18:57we've got a wee chance here but it's a tough place to play and a lot of Rangers players

00:19:01found that last season under Michael Beale coming in. The Dutch players in particular,

00:19:05they couldn't handle it.

00:19:07Well, I'm looking and when you think of the nine players that he's got there, whoever

00:19:12he decides to throw in for their debut, they're going to be in for a baptism of fire. It is

00:19:17of course Tyne Castle. Stephen Naismith was chatting today ahead of the big game against

00:19:22Rangers, the opening fixture of the new Scottish Premiership season and Kerry Pollock was there

00:19:28to talk to him.

00:19:30The Premiership season gets started this weekend as heartstake on Rangers at Tyne Castle and

00:19:35despite the Ibrox outfit going through a somewhat transitional period, Stephen Naismith says

00:19:39he's well aware of the threat that Philippe Clement's side can bring to the capital.

00:19:44I think it is a transition period for them when they've changed the manager in mid-season.

00:19:48He's then had to do a lot of work over the summer and from having conversations with

00:19:53him, he was somebody who was passionate about it and he understood the job that was in hand.

00:19:58But you can't get away, they're still a really good team. They're a team who have got players

00:20:05that are dangerous and who last season we got punished for our mistakes in games. That

00:20:10same threat is still there but what I believe we showed in last season is we compete in

00:20:14these games now and we'd look to probably pick up more points against Rangers than we

00:20:20did last season.

00:20:22The Hearts boss also admitted that with the addition of some new players and managers

00:20:25to the league that will add a little bit more competition as we head through the season.

00:20:29It will definitely be a more competitive league than it has been. I know Hibs and Aberdeen

00:20:36have changed managers but that gives them a clear path to move forward with. I think

00:20:43other clubs have had managers that have gained a year's experience or more. Their ideas will

00:20:50be clearer for the players so I think it will be a much more competitive league. For us

00:20:55it will be a busy one because of our schedule. But like I said last year, like I've said

00:21:01all last season, as long as we continue to move forward and progress then we're doing

00:21:07something right. If we go two games and we don't win it's not going to change my mindset.

00:21:15If we take a step back and look at all the different parts of the club, are we progressing,

00:21:19are we going forward, that's what ultimately will get us success. We had a lot of plaudits

00:21:24last season and we performed well. We'll look to do more of the same this season.

00:21:28It's been a long summer but the league campaign gets started tomorrow in the Capital, 12.30

00:21:32kick-off at Tyncastle.

00:21:35Just looking at the pictures there, Kerry's new house looks great with the big back garden

00:21:39doesn't it, Ruffey?

00:21:41That doesn't look like Chelsea!

00:21:46Sorry, Sandy House.

00:21:47Looks fantastic. You can only deal with, as we mentioned there when we were talking about

00:21:53Rangers, Ryan, you can only deal with players that you know and their qualities and you

00:21:58have to wait to see how others adapt. Of the players that he has signed we know quite a

00:22:02few of Stephen Naismith's acquisitions and it looks as if he's been wise in that transfer market.

00:22:10Yeah, I'm always surprised why Hearts, Aberdeen, Hibbs, the sort of bigger clubs outside of

00:22:16Celtic and Rangers don't go and sort of cherry-pick the best players from the sort of bottom six.

00:22:21Because straight away you get a player that's played in the league before, knows the club,

00:22:27say it's Hearts or Spital or Adanda for example, they know how big a club that is from playing

00:22:33against them so they know they have to raise their game. They also understand that it's

00:22:37tricky places to go, Kilmarnock away, Aberdeen away. So I think it's smart business and Hearts

00:22:43have done that this season. They've gone out and got Spital who I think had an unbelievable

00:22:48season last year but I think progressively played with them at Dundee United and over

00:22:53the years every season he's improved and he's proved he's got better. I think he will be

00:22:58one of the standouts for Hearts but you've also got Danda who's done really well for

00:23:02a struggling Ross County side so put those players into a Hearts team with Shankland

00:23:08in there and better players to give them that service then the recipe from looking from

00:23:13the outside should be pretty successful.

00:23:15Yeah and I think the general feeling from Tam and most of us is that Loris Shankland

00:23:21will be a Hearts player. He'll just continue there, if he can replicate his scoring feats

00:23:25I think Hearts will clearly feel confident they'll be in that top three again.

00:23:30Yeah I think so. There's been a lot of talk and a lot of stuff about Rangers but I honestly

00:23:35don't think there's anything in it. I don't think they could afford him. I don't think

00:23:39they would pay what Hearts value him at and he's massively valuable to Hearts in terms

00:23:46of the money they get from Europe and the way that Hearts play he's guaranteed to get

00:23:51chances and you've seen him over the last couple of years. Nine times out of ten those

00:23:55chances come he puts them away which is obviously a great thing for Hearts to have but yeah

00:24:00I don't see him moving this season at all.

00:24:02Yeah fair play to Hearts that even trying to keep him Ruffey they've offered him a heck

00:24:06of a bumper deal to stay. I mean way above what you would normally think.

00:24:09Yeah they've obviously brought him in, had a chat with him and said look a year to go

00:24:15on your contract, you're enjoying yourself here, you're in a Scotland team, you could

00:24:19be the regular number nine if you keep scoring goals. You know they've got a year of your

00:24:23contract to go, everything's there for you in a year, you don't have to dive into this

00:24:27just now. But as Ryan was saying there, Rangers have always said they couldn't compete with

00:24:32the money that Hearts are wanting so you have to say to yourself that if there has

00:24:36been any discussions Hearts have said four million. Whether you like it or not it's four

00:24:40million, you're not getting them for two and a half or two, it's four million and Rangers

00:24:44have always been on record and said that's too much for us.

00:24:47Yeah absolutely. OK predictions time, this is where everybody has to lay their reputation

00:24:54on the line Ruffey. Hearts against Rangers, first game of the season, how do you see it?

00:24:58I see it being quite tight, it'll be interesting to see how many of the new Hearts players

00:25:04get on the park but I still think Rangers are still too strong for Hearts and I'm going

00:25:08with Rangers to win 2-1.

00:25:101-0 Hearts. I'm going for a draw.

00:25:13I'll go for two each.

00:25:15Yeah, two each.

00:25:16I think it's a difficult call Pete, I've never seen a lot of either team and the first games

00:25:20are usually pretty cagey so I think I'll go for two each.

00:25:23Two before we move on, what is the crowd distribution? Has that been changed in any way?

00:25:29How many Rangers supporters are getting into Tyne Castle tomorrow?

00:25:32I've not got the full stand, I've got the whole section.

00:25:34You're not getting a full stand?

00:25:35No.

00:25:36It's just three or four or something.

00:25:37Are you happy with the way the whole league is going at the moment?

00:25:40No.

00:25:41Hibbs have cut allocations as well, are you happy with it?

00:25:44No I don't think so, I think we want as many away fans in as possible, I think it adds

00:25:48to the game but I can see when a club is very, very successful they want more of their

00:25:54home supporters in than their away ones.

00:25:56I'm willing to take a kick in the teeth for this Ryan and just maybe think that we are

00:26:01from a generation that is not happy with it.

00:26:06I like huge away support, as many as they can into a game because I think that's what

00:26:12football is all about but maybe we just have to fold to the new way of thinking which is

00:26:17quite simply we're going to satisfy as many home fans as possible and for example the

00:26:23Celtic Rangers game I think has lost that sparkle.

00:26:27Shut up, get on with it, we're only giving you 2,000 or we're only giving you maybe 1,500,

00:26:32that's the way ahead.

00:26:35It's difficult, I think Hearts now have the season tickets, they have that number where

00:26:41they're not going to move the season tickets that they have all season so they've cut the

00:26:45allocation down.

00:26:46Obviously Rangers and Celtic fans aren't too happy about that but at the same time they're

00:26:51also cutting the allocations of those two when those two play so I think each club does

00:26:56have its own ones.

00:26:59Hibs have done it but that's for different reasons why they've done it.

00:27:04Suburban have done it.

00:27:06I also think the Celtic Rangers one, they need to come to some kind of thing, that's

00:27:11the sort of glamour tie of Scottish football and I think when you used to watch the games

00:27:15back and you see the whole away end behind the goals at Ibrox when Celtic scored, it's

00:27:22one of the showpiece things.

00:27:24Same as when Rangers scored, you used to see all those videos of Novo running towards all

00:27:28the Rangers fans and thousands there so they need to come to some kind of agreement to

00:27:34make it a bit more, even if it's sort of European style, I can't remember exactly the percentage

00:27:39of it is but a lot more than 500,000.

00:27:42Yeah, don't hold your breath, simple as that.

00:27:45Okay from Hearts Against Rangers, we've given you a prediction, why don't you give us your

00:27:49prediction as well.

00:27:51That's the opening showpiece.

00:27:53This is the Football Show on PLZ Soccer's YouTube channel, I'm delighted that you could

00:27:57join us again.

00:27:59We will be live Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 4pm, we'll have the journals at 4pm on

00:28:04a Thursday, we'll have the Women's Football Show on a Tuesday, we'll also have loads and

00:28:08loads of unique video content for you and as ever, you can make your choice.

00:28:13We tend to pride ourselves on the integrity of the show, you'll get an opinion and we

00:28:20always like to promote other shows as well which is basically if you want a show based

00:28:25totally on your favourite team and no criticism of them whatsoever, we always say don't forget

00:28:31you can go to those fan signed shows as well and enjoy yourself.

00:28:35Tam also wants me to get a t-shirt printed saying this is not the show for you but quite

00:28:41simply we are delighted that so many people have shown their support for us and we hope

00:28:46you'll stick with us throughout the season and see all the content and all the reaction

00:28:51we're getting from our reporters out at the grounds as well, giving you as much entertainment

00:28:56as we possibly can.

00:28:58So, from Hearts Against Rangers, here's a quick look at the headlines before we analyse

00:29:02the rest of the games.

00:29:04Welcome to your daily news headlines brought to you by Arnold Clarke, I'm Patrick and here's

00:29:08your top stories.

00:29:09On the 2nd of August, Rangers have announced that Philippe Clement has signed a new deal

00:29:14at the club this morning, keeping him there until 2028 and for St Mirren, it was a famous

00:29:19night in Europe last night, defeating Valour.

00:29:224-1 debutant Sean Rooney got the scoring underway and his boss was full of praise for his performance.

00:29:27You have to remember that's Sean's first game, he was blown, he was tired but he will

00:29:34get better because he's not played for him once.

00:29:37For Kilmarnock, their European second leg didn't quite go to plan last night after a

00:29:41narrow 1-0 defeat against Circle Abruz, which will now see them drop into the Europa Conference

00:29:46League, whereas in transfer news, Scott McTominay could be on his way out of Old Trafford.

00:29:51That's after Fulham have put in a bid of £20m for the Scottish midfielder.

00:29:56That's all of your headlines, brought to you by Arnold Clarke.

00:29:59Yeah, lots to discuss if you want to give us your thoughts on it as well. Celtic against

00:30:04Kilmarnock and Celtic will be playing to a packed house and welcoming a little bit of

00:30:10nostalgia, lovely touch Roffy, Jim Craig the Lisbon Lion will unfurl the title flag.

00:30:15Yeah, brilliant, the older supporters of Celtic will always remember the 67, unfortunately

00:30:22there aren't so many of the Lions still with us. Jim is with us, a big part of Celtic

00:30:28behind the scenes, so it's great they're identifying something that the supporters

00:30:33can associate an ex-player with and it will be a huge honour for them to do it.

00:30:37Yeah, absolutely, and this is a Celtic side that Brendan Rodgers has a title winning side,

00:30:42he's brought back Paolo Bernardo, he's eventually got that deal over the line, they've

00:30:47signed two goalkeepers. Maybe the Celtic fans will just have to wait and see what the

00:30:53next two or three weeks brings as far as other signings because the manager himself is well

00:31:00aware that if it was flat at times last season, eventually they got it together, they've

00:31:06had a great pre-season. Brendan Rodgers, this is what he had to say at the press conference

00:31:11today, we have to be better in Europe, simple as that, we can't beat about the bush.

00:31:16In order to be better you need quality and if you're going to improve you need to find

00:31:20that. The ambition is absolutely burning for us to be the best that we can be.

00:31:25Yeah, he's right, I think Celtic have got a strong enough squad to win things domestically

00:31:30this season. I think they could just go out with the same squad and I think they would

00:31:33win the league comfortably. I still think they're by far the best team here, but in

00:31:36terms of Champions League, you've seen it last season, they were outclassed at times

00:31:40and he needs better quality and he also needs to hang on to his better players. Matt O'Reilly

00:31:44has been heavily linked with some big clubs this summer, Hitati as well, so he's got to

00:31:50try and keep a hold of his better players, but he's got to strengthen and he's got to

00:31:53sign two or three real quality players, real starters to go straight into the team and

00:31:57improve them. I think that Bernardo's a good sign and I think Adam Ida would be a great

00:32:02sign as well, he's obviously been linked but they're just missing a wee bit of stardust.

00:32:07Maybe a big name player come to the end of his career, giving him a few quid maybe in

00:32:11wages and getting somebody to cite the Celtic fans and get them thinking that we can do

00:32:16something in the Champions League this season because I think if you're looking at that

00:32:19squad just now, you're thinking, yep, domestically they should probably win the league again

00:32:22and probably the Cups, but in the Champions League I don't think that squad makes much

00:32:26of an impact. In a strange sort of way, the arrival of or the re-acquaintance with Bernardo

00:32:33is one thing, even if Adam Ida comes in, Celtic fans will look and say, well it's the same

00:32:38squad, they'll be looking for different faces.

00:32:42Yeah I think so, I think those two are basically just keep that continuity of last season and

00:32:48is strong enough domestically to go out and probably be favourites to win a treble but

00:32:53they definitely need a Champions League quality signings. If not now, in a couple of years

00:33:00like a Matt O'Reilly or someone, I think they've gone long enough of signing that 21, 22 year

00:33:06old, this is Matt O'Reilly now, should be really enjoying the Champions League stage

00:33:12and they need to have more players at that age or have that experience to go on and make

00:33:17a difference if they want to progress through in the Champions League because it's been

00:33:22probably a good three or four years since they've gone on a proper run in the Champions

00:33:27League and made the fans excited about the Champions League which is what they used to

00:33:31heavily be involved in and making rounds as the 16's and getting out of the groups

00:33:35continuously over the years.

00:33:36We all know that that's why Brendan, if you're going to judge him, yet he didn't have the

00:33:43best of starts towards the tail end, he started to show some form, they've certainly shown

00:33:48some form in the pre-season games, but I just wonder if Tam thinks they need two or three

00:33:53players, where do you think they need them in the positions?

00:33:58Well, you look at the three in the midfield, if O'Reilly stays, O'Reilly, Hatate and MacGregor,

00:34:04I think you're going to be doing well to get something really better than that, I thought

00:34:08they would have went for a bit of quality up front, a big name striker, somebody with

00:34:13a pedigree of scoring goals in European football, they haven't done that, but he's already said

00:34:18in that statement there, we want to bring in quality, they haven't done that yet, they've

00:34:22just brought in the guys who did particularly well last year, and this weekend it's going

00:34:27to be the same team that will go on the park that won the league last year and won the

00:34:31cup, so the supporters will be happy with that, but then you kick on to the Champions

00:34:36League and it depends where the Celtic supporters want to be, are they happy winning a double

00:34:41or a treble or a league, or do they want to get into that group stage which seems to be

00:34:46where everybody wants to be, competing against the big ones, so we'll have to wait and see

00:34:52who that quality is that's coming in.

00:34:55Yeah, and they're up against a Kamanak side that will be hurting I think from that drop,

00:35:02the one thing that we always look at Tam, is we want a Kamanak and a St Mirren and a

00:35:06Harts to get group stage, the highest European quality they can, if anything because I think

00:35:12it's a game changer financially for them.

00:35:15Yeah, I mean not only for your Hibs, Harts, Aberdeen, but for St Mirren and Kamanak to

00:35:19get into a group stage would transform the whole club, it would give them money that

00:35:24they've never had in terms of millions of pounds to strengthen the whole structure of

00:35:29the club, so yeah I think obviously both of them have got tough ties against Norwegian

00:35:34teams, but if a St Mirren or a Kamanak got into a group stage, all of a sudden you're

00:35:39thinking, well try to get in the top six every season, that money could propel you to maybe

00:35:43going for third and fourth in terms of the league campaign, so yeah, we hope all the

00:35:49Scottish teams do well, but particularly those two, but Kamanak have got coming back into

00:35:54a frying pan into the fire in terms of going to Celtic Park at the weekend, Celtic getting

00:35:59the flag, the place will be buzzing, and if Kamanak go and feel sorry for themselves,

00:36:04I don't think they will, I think Derrick will set up to be stuffy and hard to break down,

00:36:08but if Celtic get the early goal, we've always said, go to Celtic Park in Agbrox and you

00:36:12can see the early doors, it can be a four or five and that's not the way you want to

00:36:16start a league campaign.

00:36:17Yeah, lots of fans commenting on their team, Derrick Donaldson says well done St Mirren,

00:36:23cracking goals last night, as ever on our programme, lots of fans looking forward to

00:36:29seeing how their team is going to play, Errol says a left back, a central defender and a

00:36:35forward is what Celtic need, and quite a lot of fans say most of the group of Champions

00:36:41League experience, if they can bring in some new players, nine points would be enough for

00:36:47the knockout games, and another comment says Celtic team only have four UEFA Champions

00:36:52League players, we will get battered if we don't make signings, so that's just a few

00:36:58of the comments with regards to Celtic, if anything Ruffey, I think that if there was

00:37:04a fallout from Brendan's departure and then his return to Celtic, I think that's quickly

00:37:12disappeared with the double that they provided, especially with that match against Rangers,

00:37:17and I think you're about to see more of the way he wants them to play this season, now

00:37:23that he's had that full season.

00:37:25Yeah, I agree with you, I think the double got everybody back on board again, but he'll

00:37:29still be wanting to convince them that when he came back he said, look I'm going to bring

00:37:34in a better quality, Europe is the destiny for me, that's where I want to be successful,

00:37:39and I'm sure that's what he'll be wanting to do, so that's why I think most of the Celtic

00:37:44supporters are just hanging on in there waiting to see when these three and four players come

00:37:49in before the end of the window.

00:37:50Yeah, okay, prediction?

00:37:52I'm going to go Celtic, 2-0.

00:37:54Yeah, 2-0 as well.

00:37:552-0.

00:37:563-0.

00:37:573-0, okay, I think I'm with you on this one Tam, 3-0 so far as it goes on, don't worry

00:38:04about the predictions Ryan, eventually you'll realise that you just make a complete back

00:38:09end of it every week, it's as simple as that.

00:38:12Motherwell against Ross County, of course we're going to be unbelievably positive about

00:38:17the teams because three to four weeks into it, as ever, some of the fans on our live

00:38:22feed certainly will be calling for managers' heads, I can't quite work out at the moment

00:38:27who I think will be the favourite for the chop early on, I'm sure you've got your favourites

00:38:33yourselves, but when you consider how topsy-turvy it was for Motherwell last season, one minute

00:38:39they were on a run where they just couldn't buy a win, and then he stabilised it again,

00:38:44he's made more than a few signings, I mean one of them thanks to Hugh Scott who said

00:38:48I wonder if you could name the latest signing, it's Apostolos Stamatolopoulos, that's as

00:38:55good as I'm going to get on it, he's signed him among other good names like Ross Callaghan.

00:39:00He's an Aussie that boy, which you wouldn't guess from the name, but I think he'll do

00:39:06well, he's a good striker, he's just got into the national team so he'll be seeing this

00:39:11as a good step up for him, he likes to run in behind, he's not as big as Theo Baer who

00:39:18obviously did outstanding for them last year, but I think slightly biased I think Liam Gordon

00:39:24is a really good signing, he's played his whole career in the Premier League, he was

00:39:30captain last year, brings that leadership that every club kind of craves at that level

00:39:36and he's just a good solid player, so I think that was a really clever bit of business from

00:39:42Kettlewell to bring him to Motherwell and I think this season they'll be looking just

00:39:46for more consistency and like most of the bottom six clubs last year, they'll be trying

00:39:52to get away from those bottom two spots as quickly as possible.

00:39:55As you know, and it really was the story of Livingston when they dropped down last season

00:40:00and the story of St Johnson in a way being saved, if you somehow can get somebody scoring

00:40:06goals, even if the team's playing bad and nicking 10-15 goals, it's the difference between

00:40:12dropping into a play-off and being relegated.

00:40:14Yeah, I think it's the old saying, goals change games, I've played in loads of teams where

00:40:19you've been on top and you've not been able to score and you concede one and that gives

00:40:23the other team a lift and if you're down the bottom, like St Johnson last year, we came

00:40:29in with Sadiba who started scoring goals, Nicky Clark came back from injury and started

00:40:34scoring goals and like that last day of the season, we go 2-0 up and it really gives us

00:40:39something to hold on to, so I think all of those teams down the bottom are looking for

00:40:44their strikers to hit the ground running and that will probably be the difference between

00:40:47where they finish, it could be anywhere up from 7th to 12th will probably depend on the

00:40:53strikers that they've got.

00:40:54But Muller will have done particularly well with strikers, since Louis Moult, Louis Moult,

00:40:59Van Veen, the boy, and if this boy comes in and starts scoring goals, it just shows you

00:41:04how important it is to have somebody like that.

00:41:07Yeah, absolutely and it's great to see you in a different environment as well Ryan because

00:41:12towards the tail end of last season, 3 out of the 4 games towards the end, you really

00:41:19ruined a complete month for me because these were murder to watch, St Johnston were terrible

00:41:26Tam, I mean honestly, I'm surprised Craig didn't say when you were running out, put on this

00:41:33Dick Turpin mask because you're going to steal games.

00:41:36Still won at Easter Road, remember that game?

00:41:40Unbelievable, yeah.

00:41:42You bullied him that day.

00:41:44Yeah, for the last 2 minutes, the Sky stats weren't favourable to you.

00:41:49But again, it just shows you the nature of the league, Motherwell, I have to say I'm

00:41:53not too enamoured with Motherwell's home kit or their away kit, they've got a third kit

00:41:58out with a wee bit of kind of a claret and amber tartan and the home kit doesn't, I don't

00:42:05know I might...

00:42:06I think the home kit's okay, I think it's just claret and amber isn't it?

00:42:10Yeah, that strip you're talking about is not very nice at all but I watched them against

00:42:14Parthite Thistle and I thought they were definitely lacking a cutting edge, that was before Stamatopoulos

00:42:19came in so maybe he's the guy to come in and score some goals for them but they knocked

00:42:23it about pretty well but they were a bit toothless in the final third so I can just see from

00:42:28your screen that they've signed a tonne of players and they're going to take time to

00:42:32gel and they lost 3 big players last season, you know Baird and Spittle and Liam Kelly

00:42:38so they lost the real spine of their team and I don't think they've really replaced

00:42:43that quality.

00:42:44Yeah, it's good to know that Tam just dropped about 5 vowels from your Aussie's guy's name.

00:42:50I know absolutely, I'm so nervous.

00:42:54He's taken a leap out of his book.

00:42:58Stammy, what's he going to say in the back of his strip?

00:43:01Eh?

00:43:02Will there be enough room in the back of his strip?

00:43:03Well to be fair by the way, knowing Motherwell and their brilliant team in the background,

00:43:08the commercial department will have his full name on there so you can pay top draw for

00:43:14it.

00:43:15They're up against Ross County, Don Cowie got the permanent job off the back of what

00:43:19he managed to get out of that side, a few signings in there, how do you see this one

00:43:24going?

00:43:25I'm going to go for one each Peter, I think Ross County have been decent this season but

00:43:30again I think they'll miss Simon Murray and I think Motherwell will miss Bear so I'm

00:43:35going to go for a KJ one each.

00:43:37Yeah, Ruffy?

00:43:38I'm going to go Motherwell 2-1.

00:43:40I'm going to go Motherwell to win 2-1.

00:43:421-0 Motherwell.

00:43:431-0 Motherwell, okay.

00:43:44Thank you very much to so many of you for supporting us over the course of the season

00:43:49there's lots of content coming your way and you can engage with us as well.

00:43:53If you download the app interestingly enough, if you go into the part where it says contact

00:43:58you can drop in an email as well and we'll read out so many of those messages too and

00:44:04lots of people are offering their point of view on our feed as ever if you can try and

00:44:10keep your decent head on throughout the season.

00:44:12I know it's fairly difficult sometimes in the era of social media and the chance to

00:44:18actually be mental but if you get a chance.

00:44:21That applies to you, sell 88 by, I've just read that.

00:44:26Again, there's lots of, well I'm not going to read that.

00:44:29No, no, I'm not going to read that.

00:44:31No, no, because, I mean, the great, the great, is that right?

00:44:35Where is it?

00:44:36I never read that one.

00:44:37Where is that one, Tam?

00:44:39Yeah, absolutely.

00:44:41I'm not going to read out most of them.

00:44:43The good thing is eventually over a period of time Ryan will get it in the neck as well.

00:44:48There's always that kind of a period where you just.

00:44:50Once the Habs fans come on he'll get slaughtered.

00:44:52Once you get a welcome period, Ruffy, where people just kind of work out what type of

00:44:56person you are and then eventually they come for you.

00:44:59It's as simple as that.

00:45:00Apart from Ruffy, who is the housewife's favourite.

00:45:04Dundee United against Dundee.

00:45:06Boy, am I absolutely delighted, Ruffy, there's a Dundee derby back.

00:45:09Yeah, we've said it all last year.

00:45:11We need as many derbies as we can get and this one's a bumper.

00:45:14You know, obviously Dundee, I never tipped Dundee last year at all to do anything.

00:45:20Where they ended up, I had them possibly relegated but obviously as the season went on they got

00:45:26better and better and it's going to be a great game.

00:45:28I think Dundee United, having they hit the heady heights yet, they're at home,

00:45:32might be a wee bit of an advantage but I'm going to stick with Dundee.

00:45:35I just think everything's going well with Dundee just now.

00:45:37Yeah, I had a chat with Tony Dougherty at the end of the season and they gave him everything, Ryan.

00:45:44Yeah, I think he's just a really good manager.

00:45:47I think don't work under McInnes for as long as he did without taking some positive stuff from him

00:45:54and also you don't have that kind of experience to know the league.

00:45:59He was so successful at Aberdeen and I think his signings were just really good,

00:46:04thrown in with a few really good younger players that are coming through at Dundee.

00:46:09So I think it's key of holding those younger players that they've got,

00:46:12now have that year experience in the Premier League and looking to try and kick on as much as they can.

00:46:18Like you said, not many people were predicting them to be in the top six

00:46:22but I think they'll be there or thereabouts again this season.

00:46:24Yeah, and interestingly enough, Tam, I don't know about you but I like whether it's

00:46:28Mullawalla, Kilmarnock, Rangers or Celtic, whatever, Hearts, Hebs.

00:46:32I like if you have a local boy, if you have someone with a connection to the club in the team

00:46:39because you tend to, I'm not in any way dismissing players who come in from different leagues

00:46:46but Simon Murray is a Dundee fan and for him to join, what a huge shot in the arm

00:46:51because he's been a goalscorer in the last few years.

00:46:55Yeah, I think it's a terrific signing for them. I think that obviously has ties in Dundee.

00:47:00I think his young kid stays in Dundee, that was maybe the deciding factor for him to go and live in Dundee

00:47:05rather than live in Edinburgh.

00:47:07Dundee have pushed the boat out to get him in.

00:47:09I think that he's a terrific signing.

00:47:1123 goals for Ross County last season is a fantastic return.

00:47:14He started well in the League Cup.

00:47:16I think he scored a hat-trick the other day against Inverness.

00:47:20Yeah, I was fortunate to play in this game.

00:47:23A couple of games, I scored in one and got sent off in the other.

00:47:26I know that the atmosphere is tremendous.

00:47:30And it's the first time, speaking about earlier, it's the first time Dundee have gone to a game

00:47:33against Dundee United as favourites.

00:47:35Usually Dundee United were always the top club, higher position.

00:47:39But I don't think it's the case now.

00:47:41Dundee United have had a mixed bag so far this season.

00:47:44In terms of Jim Goodwin, I still don't think that a lot of the Dundee United fans are convinced by him.

00:47:49And I think if they got off to a poor start, I think he'd be under pressure as well.

00:47:52So I think Dundee are capable.

00:47:54The players have got Simon Murray to go there and win.

00:47:57I'm going to go for 2-1 to Dundee.

00:47:592-1 to Dundee.

00:48:01Dundee haven't won the Derby at Tannerdyce for 20 years, Ruffey.

00:48:06Dundee United haven't lost at home to Dundee since the early 2000s.

00:48:11So that's swaying my decision on this one.

00:48:16I'll tell you one thing which is great about it.

00:48:18A lot of people sometimes, and I think wrongly,

00:48:21this is an hour show and we try and cover as many clubs as possible.

00:48:26We cover the main news stories as well.

00:48:29And we do get around all the clubs.

00:48:31The great thing about Dundee, and because I lived in Edinburgh,

00:48:35the Hearts and Heads fans don't care a jot about Celtic or Rangers.

00:48:39Dundee equally. The whole city is consumed by the two teams, Ruffey.

00:48:44That's the way it should be.

00:48:46We hear about Rangers and Celtic supporters after a game.

00:48:49They go back to their work and the banter at work is fantastic.

00:48:53That'll be the same at Dundee as well.

00:48:56The onus of winning the game is you can walk about for a wee while

00:48:59with a smile on your face rather than hiding from your mates or your workmates.

00:49:04So that's the importance of winning this game.

00:49:07If you actually live in the city itself,

00:49:10and I'm sure a lot of the players will live in the city,

00:49:12so they'll have to deal with it as well.

00:49:14Yeah, and two managers with the experience.

00:49:17I'm amazed. This is the nature of the football now, Ryan.

00:49:21He's won the league, they're back in the top flight where they want to be,

00:49:26and still Jim Goodwin of people going,

00:49:28well, is he the right man for the job?

00:49:30It's just society these days, isn't it?

00:49:33No one's ever really happy at the moment.

00:49:36I think first and foremost they wanted to come straight back up,

00:49:39which they did.

00:49:41I think a few Dundee United fans still had a hangover

00:49:43of how they did get relegated, and it was under him as well.

00:49:47So I think they were looking to probably be a bit more commanding last year

00:49:52in terms of really running away with the league,

00:49:54but a championship's a difficult league.

00:49:58They did well to get up that,

00:50:00but they now have to step it up a fair bit to compete,

00:50:03and it doesn't help that Dundee did so well last year,

00:50:06and like that have probably gone into the game at the weekend as favourites.

00:50:09Similar to Glasgow and Edinburgh,

00:50:13it's not ideal when one club's struggling

00:50:15and the other one's doing really well,

00:50:17because it does a lot more pressure on the opposition manager.

00:50:19What's your prediction?

00:50:21I'm going to go 2-1 Dundee.

00:50:242-1 Dundee for me, yeah.

00:50:26I was going to sit on the fence until you gave me that stat.

00:50:31I was actually going to go 2-1 Dundee United,

00:50:34but because Dundee, I think it's 2-2, Robbie.

00:50:37I'm going to go 2-1 Dundee United.

00:50:402-1 Dundee United, yeah.

00:50:41So you can have that Monday condescending look on your face.

00:50:44Oh, I just want to carry on being a winner at the end of the season.

00:50:47Yeah, OK, we'll find out.

00:50:49Don't forget the Monday game is St Johnstone against Aberdeen.

00:50:52We talked about teams that need goalscorers,

00:50:55we talked about teams with expectation,

00:50:57and if you talk about one with huge expectation,

00:51:00it is of course Aberdeen as they head to McDermott Park

00:51:03for their first game of the season.

00:51:05They've got a new manager in Jimmy Tolleen,

00:51:07and he admits that he is well aware of what the Aberdeen fans expect.

00:51:13The expectation of Aberdeen, everybody knows that,

00:51:15and we need to use that positive energy

00:51:18that people and fans believe in us

00:51:22and take it like a good thing, not a heavy weight.

00:51:25We keep going, we keep going, we keep trying,

00:51:28and the only thing we can do is try everything we have.

00:51:30Then we cannot fail you in one way,

00:51:33but then we also have to identify what we have to do better.

00:51:36If you're looking for the blueprint that Rangers have provided,

00:51:40saying, OK, here's a manager that likes the club,

00:51:44is happy, he's got a new four-year deal in Philippe Clameau,

00:51:47Jimmy Tolleen surely is one of those managers

00:51:51that Dave Cormack is going to have to sit in back

00:51:54and just suck it up if it's not going well to start with.

00:51:58He's due to get one right.

00:52:00A lot of averages, Dave Cormack's got to get one right

00:52:02because his last two or three have been a disaster.

00:52:05That's some of your pals you're talking about.

00:52:08Apart from Glassie, apart from Stevie Glass.

00:52:11I think that he's got to stick with the manager now.

00:52:14It's been a huge turnover of managers at Aberdeen.

00:52:17He's finding himself getting in the neck of his supporters as well.

00:52:20I think this is going to be a longer-term project,

00:52:22but we see that every year when managers come in.

00:52:24If he gets off to a bad start, the fans will be thinking,

00:52:26is he the man for the job as well?

00:52:28As Ryan said, that's just football now.

00:52:30It's just the pressures of football management

00:52:33and social media and everything that goes with that.

00:52:35I'm looking forward to seeing Aberdeen.

00:52:37I think they'll provide a freshness.

00:52:39I think he'll play a different way.

00:52:41I think he wants to play a high press.

00:52:43He's done that in Ellsberg in Sweden.

00:52:45Let's just see how they get on.

00:52:47I thought they'd underachieved massively last season

00:52:49for the squad of players they've got.

00:52:51I think they've got a really talented squad.

00:52:53If he can get the best out of them,

00:52:55I think they'll be up there as well this season.

00:52:57If anything, Raffy, Aberdeen being in the bottom six with Hibbs

00:53:00was a reflection of the quality of football we were watching.

00:53:03Aberdeen were murder last season.

00:53:06Again, that's what makes the managers

00:53:09to be a wee bit under pressure than others.

00:53:12Hibbs and Aberdeen supporters

00:53:15will not tolerate being in that bottom six.

00:53:17They've already had a horrendous season.

00:53:19Everybody having a go at them

00:53:21and making jokes about them.

00:53:23Both of them, Aberdeen in particular,

00:53:25have got support that feel as if

00:53:27they demand the success.

00:53:29They turn up at away games in numbers.

00:53:31They just want to have a really, really good season

00:53:34so the manager will have to convince them.

00:53:37The only way you do that is by winning games.

00:53:39They're up against a St. John's side.

00:53:41You're all team.

00:53:43I am almost certain they will be favourites

00:53:46for so many people this time

00:53:49to drop out of the league.

00:53:51Craig Levine will have to not only prove

00:53:53the doubters wrong,

00:53:55maybe even prove the new owners wrong.

00:53:57Yeah, I think

00:54:00they've really struggled

00:54:03with the last two seasons

00:54:05or even three seasons with the play-off season

00:54:07before I joined.

00:54:09They're going to have to hit the ground running.

00:54:11It's a little bit strange to see

00:54:13this pre-season in the Cup.

00:54:15They seem to be scoring a lot of goals

00:54:17which is what we really struggled with

00:54:19last season was having goal scorers.

00:54:21We've got Sidibe up front who scored.

00:54:23Benji scored a couple in pre-season

00:54:26and he seems to be playing two up front.

00:54:28Hopefully on Monday night

00:54:30he can play two up front.

00:54:32I think it's near enough close to a sell-out

00:54:34for that game.

00:54:36That brings its own added pressure.

00:54:38What a game for St. John's

00:54:40to sort of new ownership,

00:54:42new season, go out there and put a real good performance on

00:54:45against an Aberdeen side

00:54:47who, like we've all said,

00:54:49was horrendous last year.

00:54:51They will obviously be trying to do

00:54:54so much better to get into that top six

00:54:56but it will be a real difficult game

00:54:58for both teams, I think.

00:55:00Any predictions, Ruffey, on Aberdeen

00:55:02until I see two or three games

00:55:04of the style of football?

00:55:06If he's going to play a high press

00:55:08and the team are going to try and play football

00:55:10all well and good.

00:55:12I think the league,

00:55:14no matter what way Neil Doncaster

00:55:16and the SPFL spin it,

00:55:18I think we need to see an improvement

00:55:20in the quality of football we were watching.

00:55:22Yeah, but I think

00:55:24in the two teams in particular

00:55:26we're talking about Hibs and Aberdeen

00:55:28who had to add in to the league last year.

00:55:30I think they were poor.

00:55:32Well done to St Mermain and Dundee

00:55:34for being up there.

00:55:36I'm sure if you asked their fans

00:55:38did they enjoy the season, it would be yeah.

00:55:40It's just that when we go further into European football

00:55:42our other clubs seem to struggle a wee bit.

00:55:44I hope that's not the case this year

00:55:46but I think if they establish themselves

00:55:48more in Europe, we'll think more.

00:55:50The crowds are up

00:55:52in Scotland.

00:55:54They're fanatical.

00:55:56The more we keep progressing, the more and more

00:55:58it'll turn up.

00:56:00If Hibs and Aberdeen

00:56:02get their act together, I think it'll be an exciting season.

00:56:04With no knowledge of how they're going to play

00:56:06what they're going to look like

00:56:08and the knowledge of what I've watched

00:56:10against St Johnson

00:56:12I'm going to go Aberdeen to win 2-1.

00:56:14Yeah, I think Aberdeen will get off to a good start.

00:56:16I'm going to go 2-1 as well.

00:56:18Sometimes when you leave a club

00:56:20they put in some kind of

00:56:22contract where you're not allowed to say

00:56:24anything against them over a period of time.

00:56:26Thankfully there's no

00:56:28gagging order for you.

00:56:30Thanks for that, Tom.

00:56:32So give us your prediction, Ryan.

00:56:34Remember you said 4-0

00:56:36Aberdeen up there.

00:56:38I'm going 1-0.

00:56:401-0.

00:56:42Oh my God.

00:56:44Just a wee scalp

00:56:46on your back end there.

00:56:483-1 Aberdeen.

00:56:50I think St Johnson will get relegated this season.

00:56:522-1 Aberdeen.

00:56:54I'm going to get all of us to

00:56:56predict 1-12

00:56:58and then obviously

00:57:00we'll look and see how it all goes.

00:57:02We'll be able to call on it over the course

00:57:04of the season.

00:57:06Just before we go, don't forget

00:57:08you can hit the subscribe button

00:57:10and also download the app on PLZ

00:57:12Soccer in Google Play

00:57:14and in the App Store. You'll get all the

00:57:16breaking news at your fingertips.

00:57:18I've got to wish you well, Ryan, because not only

00:57:20are you going to come in here to join us,

00:57:22but you're going to be playing football

00:57:24of course with Livingston.

00:57:26High hopes. We've got

00:57:28a lovely feature with Ali Graham

00:57:30who's given us his insight into the

00:57:32championship for this season. He reckons Livingston

00:57:34are going to be there or thereabouts trying

00:57:36to win it.

00:57:38I think it's probably one of the best leagues

00:57:40in Scotland

00:57:42purely from the fact that before the game

00:57:44starts tomorrow, there's probably five teams

00:57:46who have a real belief

00:57:48in the league, which you don't

00:57:50really get in any of the other leagues. Give me the five.

00:57:52Livingston,

00:57:54Thistle, Raith Rovers,

00:57:56I think Falkirk will be confident

00:57:58in there. I think all of those

00:58:00five teams will be going

00:58:02into the season believing if they can

00:58:04get on a good run and get some performances

00:58:06that they can go and win the league

00:58:08and definitely be up there.

00:58:10It'll be a dark horse. My brothers at Hamilton,

00:58:12they've made some really good signings.

00:58:14He's injured, which is a big bonus

00:58:16for them as well.

00:58:18Hopefully they get paid enough.

00:58:20That was another line.

00:58:22Good luck with that line, Tom.

00:58:24Airdrie have done really well

00:58:26under Rhys McCabe.

00:58:28I think I've named every team.

00:58:30I think it'll be really interesting if Livingston

00:58:32do go on a good run and you're

00:58:34up there first or second

00:58:36extended run, to see

00:58:38if the support come back and support the team.

00:58:40Livingston is a massive place.

00:58:42I know you were

00:58:44one of the winning games last year

00:58:46but I think if you go on

00:58:48a wee run, there's a big

00:58:50attendance there, if they all get behind

00:58:52that team. I think it has a

00:58:54ceiling point. I think they have to work

00:58:56really hard as a club to try and get fans out

00:58:58because most of them

00:59:00head towards Tynecastle

00:59:02but there's a lot who head towards

00:59:04Celtic and Rangers, especially

00:59:06in that area. It's a huge

00:59:08job and they'll be hoping to attract them with

00:59:10positive results. We will find out.

00:59:12I wish Ryan the very best of luck

00:59:14in his time at Livingston

00:59:16with David. We're a huge fan of David Martindale

00:59:18it's fair to say. Yeah, we like him.

00:59:20Good guy. We like him

00:59:22although if you're

00:59:24frozen out of the side at any

00:59:26point, we don't like him.

00:59:28Try and get your act together, will you?

00:59:30Anyway, apart from that, hit the subscribe

00:59:32button. Don't forget, right

00:59:34across the weekend, across all our social media

00:59:36on the fabulous figures of last

00:59:38season and the content that we gave

00:59:40you. You've shown your support

00:59:42and I want to thank each and every one of you for backing

00:59:44us. So many are trying to

00:59:46copy us, as they often do

00:59:48and we're just going to keep

00:59:50on trying to fight the fight

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00:59:56away from the tired, old,

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01:00:00on to PLZ Soccer. You'll get

01:00:02opinion, you'll get guests, you'll get one-to-ones

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01:00:10Peter Martin, thank you for listening

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