Their goal tally of 34 was worse than relegated Dundee, and the goals against column only bettered those of Dundee and Livingston. Andy Pod top-scored with seven, and the Pars have lost their biggest asset, as the artificial pitch at East End Park has been ripped up and replaced with grass after complaints from their SPL colleagues.

Their away form was awful and with their secret weapon gone, it’s easy to see why the layers rate them as short as 5-2 to finish the season rock-bottom. The Pars have recently signed Mark Burchill, who has never really lived up to expectations.

It was in 2000 that  great things were going to happen for him, and he  was considered by some as the bright new beginning of football in Scotland, even though he was not a first team regular in the Celtic side

This will be Burchill's ninth club since leaving Celtic for Birmingham in 2000 and he is no where near the player he was when he was playing for the Bhoys. Leishman is also hopeful that former Rangers and Scotland scoring legend Ally McCoist, who now works for ITV sport,  will join the coaching staff on a yet to be defined basis. Probably not on Friday nights or Saturday mornings!

Pars legend Jim Leishman stepped in at the end of the season and masterminded wins over both Dundee clubs to secure their SPL status. He will be at the helm again this term.

With few new faces coming in, it looks like another difficult season.