An in-depth look at the SPFL Premiership's opening weekend
Friday 5 August 2016 10:14, UK
A lot has changed in Scottish football in the space of just a few months.
Celtic have recruited the man who came within a slip of winning Liverpool's first league title since 1990 and one of Arsenal's "Invincibles" in defender Kolo Toure.
Rangers promotion to the Scottish Premiership has been twinned with the addition of infamously outspoken Joey Barton, as well as former Tottenham Hotspur playmaker Niko Kranjcar.
Hearts have already crashed out of Europe to a Maltese side and they were joined by Aberdeen after they were on the wrong end of a controversial night in Slovenia on Thursday.
From Kilmarnock announcing 11 new signings in a single day to Hamilton Accies adding a former AC Milan midfielder to their squad, it's been an exciting summer for Scottish clubs.
The league may have lost a Dundee derby and the Edinburgh equivalent is still at least a year away from gracing the Premiership again, but whatever your footballing persuasion, 2016/17 promises to be an enticing campaign.
Rangers v Hamilton Accies
Saturday 12.30pm kick-off - Live on Sky Sports 1 & 5
Stats:
Rangers have won all nine of their previous encounters with Hamilton in the top flight of Scottish football, with Saturday's visitors conceding an average of four goals a game at Ibrox.
Hamilton have failed to score in their last four opening-day fixtures but Rangers are unbeaten in the first fixture at this level since losing to Hearts in 1998.
Rangers captain Lee Wallace:
"I think what you can expect is what Rangers always do, and that is be highly competitive in every single game. Being hard to beat, playing the right way and making sure we can be the best we can every single time. There's no doubt that we have added well and we have trained well.
"I think they (Kranjcar and Barton) have added an enormous amount both on and off the pitch. There's undoubted quality on the football pitch but I think more on how they are interacting off the pitch. The contributions they have made in analysis and on the training park are second to none.
"They're a fantastic two additions along with the rest of the guys who have come into our squad and we're in really good shape right now."
Hamilton Accies captain Michael Devlin:
"Every year it tends to be that we are favourites to go down. We've become used to that. We thrive on it. We love proving people wrong and we'll certainly try and do that this year. We've got confidence in ourselves that we can do enough to stay in the league and that starts with the game on Saturday.
"Eleventh or 12th is failure in our eyes. It's not good enough. Tenth and above is successful. As a group of professionals we have a job to do. We are tasked with staying in the Premiership. That's the expectation from the club and we expect it from ourselves."
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Kilmarnock v Motherwell
Saturday 3pm kick-off
Stats:
The head-to-head record could hardly be closer. Kilmarnock have won 24 games against Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership while the Fir Park side have defeated Saturday's opponents 25 times.
Kilmarnock have not recorded a victory in any of their previous six opening games while Motherwell are unbeaten in their last five.
Kilmarnock captain Steven Smith:
"Nobody at the club wants to be in the situation we found ourselves in at the end of the season and we are looking to improve. The manager has signed a lot of players and there's a bit of positive news about the place now with those new signings.
"We've had a few weeks together now, especially with the new League Cup set-up, we have had some competitive games and a pre-season trip to Marbella so by the time the season starts we should be ready to kick on and we'll be ready to go.
"I don't think we should be setting targets. Last year there was talk about top six but I don't think it helped us in any way. We just need to take it on a game-by-game basis and not get caught up in the situation we found ourselves in last season."
Motherwell captain Keith Lasley:
"We struggled last year early on and had a lot of catching up to do. We had a good end to last year but over the years when we've went on to have a good season it's been off the back of getting momentum early on, which will hopefully start at Kilmarnock on Saturday.
"The Betfred Cup games have went well so we are going into the season in a good frame of mind.
"Top six is something we'll look at as the season progresses. We will then set our targets accordingly; it's all about the start for us. We can't get too far ahead of ourselves setting targets given the recent seasons we've had and the last couple of starts."
Partick Thistle v Inverness CT
Saturday 3pm kick-off
Stats:
Inverness CT's only win in five previous Scottish Premiership visits to Firhill came in a 4-1 victory last season, but Thistle have won only one of their last seven home league games (D2 L4).
Partick Thistle captain Abdul Osman:
"I think we should be aiming higher than avoiding relegation. You saw our finish last year. I think we did really well and went to Ross County away where we had to get a win or draw for top six and we missed out.
"So I think when you narrowly miss out like that the next season you have to push for the top six. We've got self-belief in the squad and we feel we can still make the top six regardless of who is in the league. We just have to push on from last season."
Inverness CT captain Gary Warren:
"For us this year it's the same as the last four or five years. It's to get as many points as we can early on and avoid relegation. Once we get to that mark we will look to try and climb the table and finish as high as we can.
"If you look at our pre-season games we have already put out a big statement. We've won the group in the League Cup, albeit you're not looking at top-flight teams, but that's no disrespect to them. We scored five against Dunfermline and seven against Arbroath so that's a statement in itself for the moment.
"For anyone on the outside looking in they'll see a young manager (Richie Foran) coming in and say he's unproven, untested and untried but for me he's been a gaffer to the team so he's well respected. Nothing will faze him; he's a winner at heart and let's hope that continues."
Ross County v Dundee
Saturday 3pm kick-off
Stats:
Ross County have won three and drawn the other in the four matches they have met Dundee at home in Scotland's top flight. In the three meetings last season there were 20 goals scored, including four from County striker Liam Boyce.
Ross County captain Paul Quinn:
"I think we have to look forward and understand the difficulties we face with Rangers added back into the league. We have to be positive in everything we do and every aspect of our game.
"I think a lot of people will say the top four speaks for itself and I don't think they'll be too far wrong. But we can't go into the campaign looking like there's only two spots available. We're focusing on getting ourselves in the top six and finishing as high as we possibly can."
Dundee captain James McPake:
"We want to be back in the top six. We were disappointed last season when we missed out. The season before we managed it, so that's the aim and where we want to be as a football club.
"It's not just the players but the fans and the owners as well. That's the big aim and that's what we are trying hard to do."
St Johnstone v Aberdeen
Sunday 12.15pm, kick-off
Stats:
Despite ending last season in second, Aberdeen finished with a run of four consecutive away defeats and have conceded 12 goals in their last four Premiership fixtures with St Johnstone.
The previous opening-day meeting between the sides ended in a 0-0 draw at Pittodrie in 2011.
St Johnstone captain Dave Mackay:
"We've recruited well and kept the majority of the group that was here last year as well so I think it could be another exciting season for the club.
"It's a mystery why he (Tommy Wright) hasn't had a move so far. The job he has done here getting top six each year and winning a cup, as well as semi-finals a couple of times in other cups, and good results in Europe as well. It's to our benefit as we'd love to keep him here but you do feel he deserves a big move.
"It's going to be harder for all the clubs to get into the top six. With the way people are talking Rangers, Celtic, Aberdeen and Hearts should finish top six so there are only two places for eight teams to play for. But we are more than capable of doing that if we play to our potential."
Aberdeen captain Ryan Jack:
"It's always difficult going into a new campaign and all the teams have strengthened. There are a lot of good teams in the league and we know that if we want to be challenging and in amongst it we are going to have to do consistently well throughout the season and make sure we hold our own.
"With the way we have added to the squad and the start we've made in the European games and in pre-season we are looking forward to it.
"Last season we got close to Celtic on a few occasions and just never quite made it. Credit to Celtic, they did well and got the job done. The way we ended the season wasn't good enough and I think that's something we will look to this season that we can improve on."
Hearts v Celtic
Sunday 2.15pm kick-off - Live on Sky Sports 1 & 5
Stats:
Hearts have not won against Celtic since their Scottish Cup semi-final victory in April 2012, losing 11 and drawing twice. Celtic have also scored at least two goals in their last six league visits to Tynecastle, netting 18 times in that period.
Hearts captain Alim Ozturk:
"I think it's a good thing to play against the champions. It's a good moment to show how good we are. I think it's important to get a good result and to build it up from there. We have a hard game in the second week against Aberdeen as well.
"We showed last year we are a good group and most of the players are still here. New players are coming in and we are trying to build it up."
Celtic captain Scott Brown:
"Last season was a little bit disappointing overall but we still got the job done. We've started off really well in the Champions League qualifiers and hopefully push that on to the league. It's huge for us to try and get six in a row. We fought well last year and we deserved it after a long hard season.
"I think Aberdeen will be our closest challengers after the last couple of seasons. They've been exciting to watch, came to Celtic Park and got points and we struggled up there. So hopefully we can do a bit better this season.
"The training has been exceptional under Brendan Rodgers. He's a great manager to work under after what he's done at Liverpool and Swansea with the way they play and the great style of football. We are trying to get that onto Celtic Park but we still have a long way to go."
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