Dundee United manager Jack Ross: "Everybody has that sense of excitement for the first game of the season. It's been a few months break from the dugout and I'm very much looking forward to being involved in a competitive game.

"In order to sustain that progress and match the league position, we need to win more points. We feel as if we've improved the squad. We're maybe a few weeks behind where we'd like to be, just because of the time when I came in.

"Knowing Derek will, he will not be returning to the Premiership to tread water. He will have his own ambitions about where he wants to take Kilmarnock."

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Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes: "It's a good challenge being at home, flag being unfurled and a recognition of last season's efforts.

"But we move on, we'll be judged on the back of this, we've got to try and establish ourselves and get that reputation of being a tough team to play against.

"Dundee United did very well last season, they've got their own European challenges to look forward to next week. Getting Jack in gives them real optimism, getting a manager of his level and quality, it's a great bit of business.

"It's a good fit. I speak to Jack regularly and United are good for him as well. I expect it to be a tough match. We've got to concentrate on ourselves. I want us to be confident, not to feel as if we don't belong. I'm determined to try and enjoy this season."

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Motherwell chief executive Alan Burrow joined Sportsound to discuss the club's managerial situation after Graham Alexander's departure yesterday.

"What is important to say and this has been lost quite early that this was very much a mutual situation," he told BBC Scotland.

"This was a genuine case of both parties coming together. We both agreed after the conversation that both Graham Alexander and Motherwell part company. It's been a difficult week to be frank, but certainly difficult when you lose a manager at any time. Everyone feels a collective responsibility.

"Sitting in the hours after the event, it's something we all reflect on and think 'Could we have done more?'

"The result in both the first leg at Fir Park and in Ireland on Thursday were extremely disappointed and very difficult to take.

"I'm not naive enough to think we weren't going to have discussions, but that was expedited by Graham approaching us on Friday morning."

On reports of a return for Stephen Robinson, he adds: "What I would always caution 'be very cautious what you read in newspapers'.

"I would like not to be drawn for the professionalism of everybody to talk about another club's manager. I think it would be disrespectful to St Mirren and doubly disrespectful to St Mirren given we are playing them tomorrow.

"I also wouldn't want to prejudice anyone else who came forward."

This is another hard one to call..

Annan Athletic have made a cracking start to the season in the League Cup and Stenhousemuir are being tipped to go well.

Newcomers Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic have shown enough in the cup to suggest they can hold their own.

Image source, BBC Sport

The third tier looks wide open, with Falkirk, Dunfermline and Queen of the South expected to be in the mix for the title.

Image source, BBC Sport

Who do you fancy in the Championship?

Dundee will be favourites to bounce straight back to the top flight, but Inverness Caley Thistle and Partick Thistle might have something to say about that.

And what about Arbroath? Can they manage a repeat of last term's heroics?

Image source, BBC Sport

Three of Hearts' summer additions are in from the start at Tynecastle today. Lawrence Shankland, Alan Forrest, and Kye Rowles make the starting XI.

Robbie Neilson names other recent signings Jorge Grant and Lewis Neilson on the bench.

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Ross County boss Malky Mackay also brings in his summer signings, with Ben Purrington and Owura Edwards in the first XI.

A host of new faces are on the bench for the Highland outfit too, with George Harmon, Jake Eastwood, Kazeem Olaigbe, Victor Loturi, and Yan Dhanda all starting from the sidelines this afternoon.

It's a very new look St Johnstone side this afternoon. Only three players who were here last season make the starting line-up; midfielders Murray Davidson and Melker Hallberg, as well as forward Theo Bair.

Drey Wright, Jamie Murphy and Hallberg all face their former side, which always adds some extra spice.

David Marshall captains the visitors and makes his first start in the Scottish top flight since he played against Hibernian for Celtic in August 2007.

Alongside the veteran goalkeeper, there are first league starts for Marijan Cabraja, Nohan Kenneh, Jair Tavares and Elie Youan, with Cabraja and Youan only just receiving work permits this week.

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It's been 13 years since Steven Fletcher started a Scottish Premiership match. He is one of three debuts for Dundee United this afternoon, alongside goalkeeper Mark Birighitti and former Livingston midfielder Craig Sibbald.

18-year-old Mathew Cudjoe makes only his second start, whilst Glenn Middleton could make his debut should he come off the bench after signing permanently from Rangers yesterday.

For Kilmarnock, Lewis Mayo and Kerr McInroy make their first Premiership appearances with Joe Wright and Ryan Alebiosu also making their league debuts.

Summer signings Gary Woods and Liam Donnelly are named amongst the subs.

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Michael Stewart
Former Hearts midfielder on BBC Scotland

Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst tells BBC Sportsound: "It was a big win. It's vital three points from a difficult away game on a difficult surface. The start we had didn't help. It's a very easy goal that should not have happened.

"We weren't sharp enough in that moment and took us a little bit out of the game.

"In the second half we did much better. We changed our set up and then we had 45 minutes of one-way traffic."

On losing the early goal, he explains: "It's the whole defence on how we were setting up. There was no duel when the long ball came. We need to react better for the second ball, but we'll be fine. It's the first game of the season and we will learn from it.

"If you see the second half performance, we deserve the win."

On captain James Tavernier's winning free-kick: "We know the quality he has from spot kicks and from shooting from distance.

"Eventually he scored a great free-kick that gave us the three important points. I'm happy with his performance and energy."

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Livingston manager David Martindale tells BBC Sportsound: “I think, the first half, we dealt with them really well. They didn’t cause us many problems.

“I felt we competed fairly well in our final third. There was a big moment when Joel (Nouble) breaks through. At 1-0, you go two goals up it’s a different game.

"Scott Arfield scores every time he comes here. And then James Tavernier does what he does.

“I’m gutted for the players. I’m not saying we deserved more, I think we were unlucky.

“They executed the game plan very well. Apart from two moments of magic we were probably still in the game."

On the impressive showing of goalscorer Nouble, he adds: “I thought it was a very good overall number nine performance. Let’s be honest, we probably sold Lyndon Dykes from a similar performance.

“His finishing is coming on. It’s a part of a game we’ve had to work on with him. Fair play to Joel, he told us he bought a new pair of boots with goals in them."

Both of these sides suffered the ignominy of early exits in the League Cup, which adds some extra weight to today's encounter.

Hibs suffered wretched luck with injuries last season and have just lost new arrival Aiden McGeady for anywhere between six and 12 weeks.

St Johnstone needed a play-off to avoid relegation last season and have been widely tipped to struggle again unless they can solve their problems in the final third.

St Johnstone: Matthews, McGowan, Mitchell, Considine; Wright, Davidson, Hallberg, Montgomery; Carey, Murphy, Bair

Substitutes: Parish, Kucheriavyi, Mahon, Steven, Macpherson, Ballantyne, May, O'Halloran, Brown

Hibernian: Marshall, Cadden, Bushiri, Porteous, Cabraja; Kenneh, Newell, Henderson; Melkersen, Jair, Youan

Substitutes: Dabrowski, Miller, Doyle-Hayes, Doidge, Bojang, Mitchell, McGregor, Campbell, McClelland

Hearts: Gordon, Halkett, Rowles, Sibbick; Atkinson, M Smith, Haring, Cochrane; Forrest, McKay, Shankland

Substitutes: Stewart, Grant, Boyce, Mackay-Steven, Devlin, Halliday, Neilson, C. Smith

Ross County: Laidlaw, Randall, Baldwin, Iacovitti, Purrington; Callachan, Tillson, Sims, Owura; D. Samuel, Hiwula

Substitutes: Eastwood, Dhanda, Johnson, Loturi, Watson, Harmon, Olaigbe, Paton, White

Kilmarnock: Walker, Mayo, Taylor, Wright, Alebiosu, Power, McInroy, McKenzie, Polworth, Lafferty, Shaw

Substitutes: Woods, Armstrong, Sanders, Murray, Lyons, Waters, Donnelly, Cameron, Watson

Dundee United: Birighitti, Smith, McMann, Mulgrew, Edwards, Sibbald, Levitt, Harkes, Cudjoe, Watt, Fletcher

Substitutes: Eriksson, Graham, Niskanen, Clark, Middleton, Meekison, Freeman, Fotheringham, MacLeod

Michael Stewart
Former Hearts midfielder on BBC Scotland

Rangers start the new season with three points but they had to work hard for them, coming from behind at Livingston.

Joel Nouble shot the home side in front after five minutes and they kept Rangers out until the 72nd minute when Scott Arfield found the leveller with a lovely header.

Soon after, James Tavernier cracked a free-kick into the top corner.

Image source, SNS

Neil McCann
Former Rangers winger on BBC Scotland

We're into three minutes of stoppage time in West Lothian.