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| Saturday, July 27, 2002 |
Club-by-club guide to SPL Season 2002/3
All the ins and outs - plus the expert verdict of former Celtic coach Eric Black on the prospects for each team.
ABERDEEN
MANAGER: EBBE SKOVDAHL
IN: Eric Deloumeaux, Laurent D'Jaffo. OUT: David Lilley, Cato Guntveit, Derek Whyte, Hicham Zerouali, Eugene Dadi, Rachid Belabed.
VERDICT - Need more experience having lost Derek Whyte. The kids are getting to the stage where they must stand on their own two feet. In need of a little know-how, although Darren Young has come on a lot and deserves to be the captain.
CELTIC
MANAGER: MARTIN O'NEILL
IN: David Fernandez, Ulrik Laursen (pending). OUT: Morten Wieghorst, Dmitri Kharine.
VERDICT - Players will have been hurt by missing out on two cups last year. O'Neill will ensure the hunger is still there and they are far too professional to allow his contract situation to bother them. The vital thing
is how they deal with the Champions League again. It's a heavy load and can take the shine off league games.
DUNDEE
MANAGER: JIM DUFFY
IN: Nacho Novo. OUT: Temuri Ketsbaia, Khaled Kemas, Paul Mathers, Keith Gibson, Kiko Torres, Massimo Beghetto, Beto Garrido, Alessandro Romano, Walter del Rio.
VERDICT - At times have had an indisciplined mentality and organisation not the best. But getting Duffy back in is a great move. He gained a lot of experience in England, and has improved as a coach.
DUNDEE UTD
MANAGER: ALEX SMITH
IN: Kevin McGowne, Allan Smart. OUT: Jamie Buchan, David Partridge.
VERDICT - Very inconsistent and have been in transition for a couple of years. Alex Smith has steadied things but more will be expected of him this season. When Charlie Miller plays, United play. Many times last season Charlie might not have been back to his best, but he is still a player capable of controlling games and I expect him to do well this season.
DUNFERMLINE
MANAGER: JIMMY CALDERWOOD
IN: Craig Brewster, Derek Stillie, Scott Walker. OUT: Junior Mendes, Michel Doesburg, Justin Skinner, Ian Ferguson, Scott Thomson.
VERDICT - Have improved every season under Calderwood. Being difficult to beat at home is their strength. The boss has them well organised, with pace, strength, aerial power and some quality here and there. Stevie Crawford will benefit from Craig Brewster's work.
HEARTS
MANAGER: CRAIG LEVEIN
IN: Neil McFarlane, Mark de Vries, Kevin Twaddle. OUT: Gary McSwegan, Kenny Milne, Steve Fulton, Ricardo Fuller, Andy Tod, Robert Tomaschek, Stephane Adam, Tommi Gronlund.
VERDICT - Discipline and organisation is their key. This will be a testing time after losing a chunk of their midfield. Antti Niemi is among the best, if not the very best goalkeeper in the league. If they hang on to him, Hearts will win more games than they will lose.
HIBERNIAN
MANAGER: BOBBY WILLIAMSON
IN: None. OUT: Craig Brewster, Eduardo Hurtado,David Zitelli, Matthias Jack, Ulises de la Cruz and Ulrik Laursen (pending).
VERDICT - Williamson's managerial record is excellent and he is exactly what Hibs needed. They've been unable to get anyone in but already have a potentially exciting strikeforce in Garry O'Connor and Tom McManus. Expect more from Freddy Arpinon, who has not been at his best in Scotland yet.
KILMARNOCK
MANAGER: JIM JEFFERIES
IN: Barry McLaughlin, Gary McSwegan, Greg Shields, Steve Fulton. OUT: Martin Baker, Antonio Calderon, David Merdy, Christophe Cocard, Michel Ngonge.
VERDICT - Jefferies has a formula he sticks to and it's normally successful. Now he's taken some of his favourite players to Kilmarnock - he knows they can do a special job for him. Greg Shields is a good signing. He has experience of playing in England and will be keen to prove he's still good enough.
LIVINGSTON
MANAGER: JIM LEISHMAN
IN: Juanjo Camacho, Rolando Zarate (loan), Eugene Dadi, Gustave Bahoken, Sergio Berti, Emanuelle Dorado, Fernando Lopez. OUT: Steve Tosh, Nathan Lowndes, Craig Feroz, John Anderson, Nocko Jokovic, Darren Brady, Dave McEwan (loan), David Fernandez, Didier Santini, David McGuire.
VERDICT - No reason why they cannot fill third place again, with Javier Sanchez Broto back in goal. Much will depend on the quality they've brought in and how they replace Fernandez.
MOTHERWELL
MANAGER: TERRY BUTCHER
IN: David Partridge, Daniel Sengewald, Khaled Kemas. OUT: Eric Deloumeaux, Andy Dow, Greg Strong, Steve Nicholas, Mark Brown, Karl Ready, David Ferrere, Eddie Forrest, Stuart Elliott, Kevin Twaddle, Ange Oueifio, Roberto Martinez, Yann Soloy.
VERDICT - Less espectation and teh pressure should stay off. Well still have young quality there and James McFadden exemplifies that. I really think he can be a star for them if he stays.
PARTICK THISTLE
MANAGER: JOHN LAMBIE
IN: David Lilley, Derek Whyte, Jamie Buchan, Billy Brawley, Ricky Waddell, Colin Miller, Kenny Milne, Joe Boyle, Ian Morris, Jamie Mitchell, Mark Thomson. OUT: Paul Deas, Garry Gow, Denis Connaghan, Mark McCulloch, Derek Lyle, Steve McAnespie, Paddy Kelly.
VERDICT - Lambie deserves a knighthood for getting them this far. Whyte's experience will help and Lambie will target games where he thinks he can pick up wins against his closest rivals.
RANGERS
MANAGER: ALEX McLEISH
IN: Kevin Muscat, Mikel Arteta. OUT: Jesper Christiansen (loan), Tony Vidmar, Andrei Kanchelskis, Scott Wilson, Jani Kauppila.
VERDICT - With the way they finished last season, Rangers have the edge in the title race. Players that weren't contributing are contributing now and they are more of a team. In Arteta and Barry Ferguson, Rangers have two exceptional midfielders. Getting stronger and stronger.
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