Will Kilmarnock and St Mirren be battling against the drop this season?

By Colin Moffat

The Scottish Premier League may have its fair share of detractors, but it has served up some nerve-shredding drama in recent seasons - at both ends of the table.

The last two campaigns have seen the issue of relegation decided on the final weekend.

Falkirk dropped last time round, having got out of jail with a win at Inverness the previous season and consigning the Highlanders to a term in Division One.

Inverness bounced straight back up to the top flight and most bookmakers have them among the contenders to finish bottom of the pile, along with Kilmarnock and St Mirren.

The bookies are not often wrong.

Kilmarnock finished just two points better off than Falkirk last season and could well have swapped places with the Bairns but for Ryan Flynn's wild volley over the top with four minutes to play during the final-day 0-0 draw at Rugby Park.

The Ayrshire club enter their 18th year in the top division with a new manager, as Mixu Paatelainen takes over from Jimmy Calderwood.

The former Aberdeen boss, who was temporarily installed last season, baulked at cuts to the playing and coaching staff at a club mired in debt, leaving behind a threadbare squad.

Top scorer and captain Kevin Kyle has moved on to Hearts, leaving Paatelainen with a sizeable gap to fill.

Killie failed to score in 19 league matches last term.

Take away Kyle's goals and, of the players still at the club, Craig Bryson was the next best marksman with four strikes.

On a positive note, Bryson remains at Rugby Park, with overtures from Hearts resisted, and can form a promising midfield combination with playmaker Mehdi Taouil and enforcer Manuel Pascali.

MY SPORT: DEBATE Who are you tipping for the drop?

Liam Kelly showed great promise when given his first-team chance last season, while Jamie Hamill, Frazer Wright and Garry Hay are all dependable performers.

St Mirren also have a new man at the helm, with Danny Lennon getting his first taste of the big time after his sterling work at Cowdenbeath.

The Paisley club, seeking new owners and with no debt to service, have had a busy summer, shipping out nine first-team regulars and bringing in the same number of replacements.

Four of those new faces come from Lennon's former club, while Craig Samson and Marc McAusland are also taking a step up from the lower leagues and Sean Lynch hardly featured during his time with Falkirk.

The Buddies avoided the drop on goal difference in 2009 and were three points better off than Falkirk last year.

At first glance, the calibre of players coming in does not appear to match the quality of those departing, but Lennon worked wonders at Central Park, winning two successive promotions on a shoestring budget.

Paul Gallacher is a very good goalkeeper, David Barron is more than useful in a number of defensive positions and captain John Potter is never anything less than fully committed.

The fear is that trio will be kept extremely busy if the Cowdenbeath contingent do not adapt to life in the SPL.

Can Adam Rooney keep banging the goals in for Inverness?

Inverness put in a powerful surge of 21 games unbeaten to reel in long-time First Division leaders Dundee and win promotion by a comfortable margin.

Manager Terry Butcher has been around the block and has held on to his key players. Ross Tokeley, Russell Duncan, Grant Munro, David Proctor and Roy McBain are experienced servants, while Irish duo Richie Foran and Jonny Hayes can supply goals and guile from advanced midfield positions.

A third Irishman, Adam Rooney, claimed 24 goals last season and much will depend on his ability to shine on the bigger stage.

Butcher has used his meagre resources to bolster his defence with the captures of Chris Innes, Kevin McCann and Kenny Gillet.

The former England skipper will be expecting a long, hard season, but he has a settled squad and can take heart from the great form shown by goalkeeper Ryan Esson last term.

And, just for good measure, he signed up the second best keeper in the First Division, Jonny Tuffey from Partick Thistle.

Hamilton and St Johnstone showed enough last season to suggest they will be more concerned with a push for top-six places than a dogfight at the bottom, while Aberdeen must surely improve in Mark McGhee's second season at Pittodrie.

Hibernian tailed off dramatically, with just three wins from 18 as they stumbled into fourth place, but it would be a major surprise if the scrap for survival does not feature Inverness, St Mirren and Kilmarnock as the prominent players.

It might not be pretty, but it should provide plenty of thrills and spills along the way.

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