Your views on what would mean success for Scottish Premiership clubs this season
- Published
It almost feels like yesterday when the last one finished, but 32 clubs kick-off the new Scottish football season on Saturday with the opening ties in the League Cup group stage.
Fans, players and managers of each will have widely contrasting dreams, aspirations and expectations depending on their club's size and status.
So we asked supporters of the 12 Premiership clubs what would represent success for their team in the coming season.
Here is a selection of your responses...
Aberdeen
Den: First up is a solid back four. Next is cover for the forward positions. But, most importantly, is fitness, with midfielders who are comfortable on the ball to take the pressure off the defence as last year too much emphasis was placed on defending. And limit the amount of loan players as they can be a problem rather than an asset.
Kieran: I would say having a squad with enough depth to handle domestic, as well as European, football.
Niall: We need a team and squad that will work for each other. A solid defence is key, supporting a creative midfield. If the goal threat continues from last season, these are the key ingredients to a more consistent and complete team. We must strive to create Fortress Pittodrie but must be much more threatening away from home. The squad looks strong so far.
David: Consistency. Make third place truly our own, keep up the European drive year after year and then look to try and challenge the ugly sisters' place in the table. I don't think it's realistic to expect a trophy every year, but we should expect semis and finals each season. I want that third European star too.
Steven: Hopefully the Dons can claim third again with a good display in Europe, challenging for the cups and hopefully some descent displays against the Old Firm.
Kenny: Have a good go and play well.
Gordon: Above all, more consistency, picking up a much better points tally away from home than last season and also some strength in depth in the squad. Very noticeable last season, even after Barry Robson took over, that a couple of absentees from the first XI and our performance level really fell away badly.
Celtic
Dougie 2 shoes: We never stop continues, back-to-back trebles again, Scotland's top club keeps on extending the success.
Tom: Continuity will be massive for the Hoops this season. Losing Ange Postecoglou and Jota would have been a big blow to the club in years past, but with Brendan Rodgers returning, and John Kennedy staying, this will ensure more success. More additions to Odin Thiago Holm and Marco Tilio are vital. I think central defence and a back-up keeper should be priorities.
Brian: I think the importance is maintaining consistent high standards and performances. Mightn't defend a treble, but league and progress in Europe are a must. Last 16 in the Champions League would be ideal, but even Europa League (final in Dublin!) progress to latter stages would be a mark-up on the one disappointing bit of Ange Postecoglou's time at the helm.
Benny: No doubt recruitment has been the biggest factor in Celtic's success last season, allied with the players adapting brilliantly to the style of play. More of the same this season please and more silverware will come to Paradise.
Dundee
Rod: When we last went up, we were too loyal to the players that achieved promotion, particularly in defence and goalkeeping. Adam Legzdins is a decent goalkeeper, but we need a keeper who can collect the ball from crosses or punch it out when we are under pressure in defence. Also, the height and physicality of the team needs improved.
Optimistic Dee: Consistency has to be key. The last few Premiership seasons have seen a raft of changes to the starting XI every week. A settled side will breed confidence within the camp and the fanbase.
Anon: No reason why they can't stay in the Premiership. The squad has the potential and will have to work hard and show that steel to grind out results. Over half the teams are of a similar skill-set.
Heart of Midlothian
Alan: It'd be great to reach the group stages in Europe but can't see it happening. Aberdeen will be overstretched (like us last year), so we'll slug it out (and win) with Hibs for third. A lot depends on signings, but if there's no cup glory, would consider us playing stylish front-foot football as progress.
Anonymous: Play consistently under the new management, finish third and good runs in the cups. Need to sign a couple of players to strengthen and make that possible, but getting Liam Boyce and Beni Baningime back is like two new signings already.
Alan H: Hearts have to make new quality signings who can walk into first team. Where are they? More English Premier League players on loan will be fine. Aaron Hickey? Kieran Tierney? Neymar?
Paddy: Need to bring in some quality signings. Was impressed with Steven Naismith last season - cleared out the deadwood and pushed us on to secure fourth. Hopefully playing the same brand of attacking football and re-taking third from Aberdeen.
Hibernian
George: Well now, after good signings, well done to the backroom team. Squad looking strong and balanced. Still need to secure Will Fish return, but so far, so good. With this and Martin Boyle's pending return, I'm really looking forward to a positive season. Got to aim for third and group stages in Europe to say we've been successful, so grab it guys.
Theo B Vious: I've got to say winning games is the most important thing.
Anonymous: Bringing in some new players and getting rid of deadwood is the key. Getting our deals done early will give the incoming players more time to adjust to life at Hibs.
Kilmarnock
Anonymous: More than 40 points. At least beat the Old Firm once in the season, happy days.
Matt: Eleven new players.
Amy: Squad is shaping up well, but we understand signings might not come until later in the window. Robbie Deas, Matty Kennedy and Kyle Magennis all filled needs and are astute additions. We have the best manager outwith the Old Firm and, with a strong recruitment team in place, we'll get there. A safe mid-table finish is fine by me.
Livingston
Stuart: A solid defence has always been key to what we do and it's even more important this season with teams again having much more spending power than us and using it well.
We've never been prolific, but we'll get enough (just) goals to win games from Bruce Anderson and Joel Nouble. Watch out for Stephen Bradley contributing a few I think too. Our midfield looks to be as industrious as ever and if we can keep Micky Devlin fit then we'll have an even better shot at defying the odds.
Motherwell
David: Hopefully a few more signings to come to bolster the squad and back Stuart Kettlewell, who showed he can get the team playing effective football. Would also like to see us being pro-active in getting players tied down on new contracts, especially our young up-and-coming talent.
Martin: We need to strengthen the squad and find goals with the departure of Kevin van Veen. If we can keep Conor Wilkinson fit then he looks to be a strong addition. That with the leadership of Calum Butcher. I'm positive about the season ahead and think we are at our best when we get the ball down and play football on the best pitch in Scotland. Let the rollercoaster begin.
Edward: Having lost Kevin van Veen, we need to ensure we have goals from across the team, not just from our new strikers. Stuart Kettlewell has turned out to be just the manager we need. His attention to detail is top class and staying with his preferred formation has helped the team so much to be confident in everything they do. The lads need to believe they're top-four material.
Colin: Motherwell need to keep it simple. Always been a team that can defend and counter, but when we press, we can reap rewards. Need some more firepower after the loss of Kevin Van Veen but fully capable of a top-six finish. Stuart Kettlewell appears to have the team on side, so long may that continue.
Rangers
Anonymous: League title is a must! Also a good run in Europe. Anything else is a bonus.
Tom: Rangers need to play with more intensity and pace. We have a habit of maintaining possession in areas that don't hurt the opposition. Too often I see them dispossess the opposition in their half and then watch as we pass the ball back to our centre-backs. Slow attacking play makes us too easy to defend against.
Martin: Shut the door at the back and stop conceding silly goals. Be more ruthless in front of goal. Hopefully we have found a striker that can do this. We have a strong squad. Let's come out the traps flying.
Colin: As well as not dropping many points to Celtic, need to not drop too many stupid points to last-minute goals. Need to finish teams off early in games but still keep pressing them. Fight to the final whistle, even if a goal or two up. That's what wins you the league and the cups.
Frazer: Every game from day one is a cup final. Can't leave anything in the tank. The team need to go pelting into Old Firm derbies knowing they can turn Celtic over. They have a 'new' manager - try to push Celtic mentally to having a shaky start.
Ronnie: It's quite simply converting our possession and dominance into goals and cut out the dreadful defensive lapses. We matched Celtic last term even though we didn't get the points we deserved, simply because we squandered chances. Our new forwards must start the campaign with goals. We only have one team to beat. Our new signings must hit ground running.
Dean: Avoiding injuries is a must. Can't think of any team ever who had worse injuries than Rangers last season.
Lewis: One of the main reasons we failed to succeed last season was squad depth. Celtic had too much quality depth with which we found it hard to compete. One of the main objectives for Michael Beale was to strengthen our squad and add depth and that's exactly what he's done during this transfer window to help us properly compete for the title this season.
Gerry: With a lot of new signings, the team will have to gel quickly. Cut out some of the silly mistakes at the back. We also need to turn our dominant possession into creating more opportunities and definitely more goals to kill teams off and not rue the chances we get.
Nicky: Qualification for the group stages of Champions League and have positive performances with the money it brings - then a good run in Europa League. Domestically, it has to be winning the league and get to the cup finals. That's the expectation at Rangers. Really looking forward to the new season. Michael Beale has the master plan and it's taking shape nicely.
Ross County
David: The key to a more successful campaign is that we must take our chances in front of goal. Too many chances were not taken last year. The whole squad staying injury free and fit is vital. Ending referee bias in favour of everything south of Inverness would help.
Hugh: Combination of great management team and passionate chairman give us the chance to play in the top flight for another season, but we need regular goalscorers so we're not scrapping at the end of the season.
Kyle: Good signings so far. We were fairly solid at the back last season - we just didn't score enough. Getting Eamonn Brophy permanently and signing Kyle Turner gives us more edge going forward. Expect to see more of our academy players, Dylan Smith and Connall Ewan, at centre-back and Matthew Wright, who just scored a 30-minute hat-trick in our first friendly, up top.
David: We need to get going earlier this season and find a rhythm of play. With such a high turnover of players each summer, the last few years have shown the squad is too slow to gel. Last season in particular, it took too long to find a system that worked. By all accounts, the bounce from the play-offs and early business bodes very well.
Grant: The correct signings to get the proper fluidity out of the team.
Craig: I think we need to do more in the final third. The last year and a half, we have struggled for goals. All we have done is gone route one to Jordan White. Was easier for him with two up top, but one just did not work. It's a thankless task being a lone striker for County. We need some wingers to get more balls in to the box and create. Relied on Yan Dhanda.
St Johnstone
Scott: Some fresh faces would be nice. Maybe see the new tops before the first competitive game. So far been a very tame summer and, with the turnover of player departures, it's looking a wee bitty of a daunting season ahead.
Craig: Steven MacLean needs signings. Then the aim is to play on the front foot and take the game to the opposition instead of the defend-first style Callum Davidson implemented. He has the support of the fans, so he will be given time, but he is taking charge at an awkward time with the club being for sale. A lot of unknowns at the club just now.
Michael: After a few years of unbelievable success in cup competition, a much more consistent league campaign is required. For such small support, something is needed to bring in a bigger crowd to lift the team. This club has given the city some great memories. Loved it when I came up to work with Asda. Great five years and still pop in when I'm up in Perth. Good luck.
St Mirren
Alistair: The main players from last season remain, with Ryan Strain and Mark O'Hara at the heart of the current team. If we can find a striker or two, we should have every chance of remaining in the top six. Failure to deliver new faces up front will make for a very long hard season.
Evan: Top six again is a must.
How to follow your Premiership team with the BBC
Download the BBC Sport app: Apple, external - Android, external - Amazon, external