With the World Cup now sliding into the rear-view mirror, the focus will turn back to domestic matters and another season of thrills and spills in Scottish football.
The new Premiership season is now only a week away, with the action getting under way when Rangers face Dundee United at Tannadice on Friday night.
The following day will see Falkirk take on St Mirren, with Aberdeen hosting Hearts at Pittodrie in a teatime kick-off.
Another two matches will follow on Sunday, with St Johnstone and Kilmarnock clashing in Perth before Hibs host Motherwell at Easter Road.
Four consecutive days of live football will then be rounded off when Celtic begin the defence of their title with a home clash against Dundee on the Monday night.
One thing is for sure. If we witness even half as much drama as we did last season, it’ll have been another terrific campaign.
Derek McInnes pushed Celtic all the way with Hearts last term but is now Rangers manager
Lawrence Shankland and Cammy Devlin followed McInnes in switching Tynecastle for Ibrox
What are the chances of seeing another three-way fight in the title race? Can Hearts go one better this time around? Will Celtic still be the team to beat, or do Rangers start as favourites?
Looking at the state of play across last season’s big three, it has been a summer of upheaval. Particularly at Rangers and Hearts, who both have new managers at the helm and a raft of new signings.
Derek McInnes came within a whisker of leading Hearts to the title last time around, only to be pipped by Celtic in the dying embers of the final game. He is now in charge of Rangers, having replaced Danny Rohl. Given how Rangers collapsed last term, losing four of their five post-split fixture, Rohl was toast anyway.
Even before Red Bull Salzburg came in and took him off Rangers’ hands, Rohl would have started this season on borrowed time.
In McInnes, Rangers look to have hired the right man at the right time. The have also been proactive in the transfer market and have made some shrewd signings.
Lawrence Shankland, Cammy Devlin, Ross McCrorie, Ben Godfrey, Ivor Pandur, Dan Neil and Vanja Dragojevic have all been brought in thus far. After a 2-1 win over Saint-Etienne on Wednesday night, McInnes indicated that more new signings are likely to be added by the time they face Dundee United next week.
Rangers are in the market for a couple of new wingers, with the likes of Oliver Antman and Djeidi Gassama likely to be moved on if the right offer was to be made. Further trimming of the squad will see Danilo and John Souttar depart, with the future of prized asset Nico Raskin still unclear after his World Cup exertions with Belgium.
In any case, it looks clear that Rangers will have a far stronger squad than that which finished last season.
Celtic have suffered a blow in losing Daizen Maeda, who was integral in their title push last season
Even with McInnes serving a touchline ban for the first three matches of the domestic season, they are arguably in better shape than either Celtic or Hearts.
The notion of Rangers starting a season as favourites hasn’t been witnessed since 2021, when they went in as reigning champions. But that summer was one of stagnation. The same cannot be said this time around. They have stolen a march on their title rivals, most notably Celtic.
The champions have stepped up their summer rebuild with the imminent arrival of Bodo/Glimt striker Kasper Hogh for £11m but, with Daizen Maeda away to Ipswich and Arne Engels and Reo Hatate expected to depart, they still have a lot of work to do.
Celtic have spent much of the past few weeks trying to punt all kinds of merchandise to their supporters on their social media channels. It almost feels like a re-run of last summer, when the lack of new signings meant they went into the Champions League qualifiers with Kairat Almaty ill-equipped and under-cooked.
A similar fate could yet await them if they don’t buck up their ideas.
With Danish international Hogh on his way they have also acquired Colombian striker Camilo Duran, who was signed for a fee of £6m from Qarabag, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also signed up for another year.
Their lack of urgency in the market has been alarming, if not altogether surprising. As was the case 12 months ago, supporters are wholly unimpressed by the club’s business so far.
As for Hearts, they go into the new campaign licking their wounds after a chastening night in Austria against Sturm Graz in the Champions League qualifiers earlier this week.
Alexandros Kyziridis was another of Hearts’ stars last term
After being hammered 4-0, there is very little prospect of Wouter Vrancken’s new-look side being able to turn it around in the second leg at Tynecastle.
Vrancken arrived with solid credentials after managing various clubs such as Genk, Gent and Sint-Truiden in his native Belgium. He was identified as the modern, progressive coach who could bring a new style of play to spearhead the Jamestown project at Hearts.
But they were a rabble against Graz. In his post-match comments, Vrancken didn’t seem to grasp the reality of it all.
There is, of course, no sense in panicking after one match. But it does look like he could be starting the new season on the back foot.
Hearts have lost key players in Shankland and Devlin, as well as a manager who nearly won the title. They have signed nine new players so far. Vrancken needs to integrate them into his new system — whilst still achieving results — as quickly as possible.
The Premiership remains fascinating precisely because of the proximity of these three contenders. Rangers look the most advanced in terms of squad rebuilding under a new manager who knows the landscape, even with the early ban.
Celtic have the squad quality and managerial continuity and know-how with Martin O’Neill but face significant upheaval.
Hearts have the momentum of last season but must navigate major transition in terms of manager, personnel, and style of play.
Aberdeen, Hibernian and others will scrap for best-of-the-rest status, but the real story is whether the duopoly can be properly challenged in the way it was last season.
Scottish football rarely delivers predictability. This season could be another where the margins are razor-thin and the narrative shifts with every VAR check.
Either way, buckle your seatbelts. If recent history is anything to go by, it’ll be anything but dull.
