The all-new XI coming your way

1 More Friday night games
It’s a far cry from 2011, when Aberdeen hosted the first Friday night game against Dunfermline.
The police have dropped their opposition to such fixtures and the commercial impact is now the
dominant issue for clubs. BT Sport are the Friday night broadcaster and have announced five matches to be played during that time slot from the 30 live Premiership games they will screen this term. Thankfully for away fans, the journeys are usually short, with Celtic nipping across Glasgow
to play Partick Thistle on Friday and to Hamilton in September, while Rangers will make the same trips next month before travelling to Perth in October and Dundee in November.

2 Hibernian are back
A three-year absence has given the top-flight time to appreciate Hibs and their large travelling support. Neil Lennon, the Hibs head coach, has strengthened his squad this summer, with the likes of Efe Ambrose signing from Celtic. The return of Anthony Stokes has been a particularly thrilling signing for supporters. The striker is still revered for his role in the 2016 Scottish Cup final triumph.

3 Referees
Referees, like police officers, seem to be getting younger all the time. Of course, Scotland’s top-rated ref is still 45-year-old Craig Thomson, but fresher faces are certain to emerge. Nick Walsh — regarded as a potential Fifa referee — is likely to become increasingly prominent after taking charge of 15 Premiership games last season, while Euan Anderson was put in charge of ten top-flight fixtures.

4 Strips
Kit manufacturers this season have given strips a retro theme, though that offers no guarantee of good taste. Celtic, Aberdeen and Hearts all went back in time in the design of their new strips; Celtic’s is a simple homage to 1967; Aberdeen have gone for a clean all-red look; and Hearts’ strips are a throwback to the 70s. Claret shorts are also back in fashion at Motherwell, while Partick Thistle’s strip is a nod to their broad red and yellow stripes of the mid-70s. However, the white sleeves on St Johnstone’s blue shirt is a fashion faux pas.

5 Rangers on SPFL board
Stewart Robertson, Rangers’ managing director, has become the club’s first representative on the SPFL board. He will join Ann Budge, the Hearts owner, and Hamilton chairman Les Gray as the Ladbrokes Premiership representatives. Robertson had made two previous attempts to join the governing body’s top table — first applying two years ago before pulling out of the running a year later. Robertson was on the board at Motherwell before moving to Ibrox, but few chief executives are able to compete with Warren Hawke when it comes to experience in the game. One of the new Championship representatives on the SPFL board, Hawke once played for Sunderland in a FA Cup final defeat by Liverpool.

6 Murdoch MacLennan
Supporters, in general, don’t really take much notice of the men in suits when it comes to football, unless it happens to be their club’s star player on a Saturday night. So Murdoch MacLennan, the man who replaces Ralph Topping as chairman of the SPFL, can expect to begin his new role in relative anonymity, at least until he makes a public announcement which upsets fans. His role as the ceo of Telegraph newspapers did not draw anywhere near as much flak as his new post will, as Neil Doncaster could tell him. A fans-led campaign to have Rangers stripped of previous titles could bring MacLennan his first test.

7 Mascots
Are mascots now becoming passé? Is green the new black? Well, it might not be in fashion terms, but the return of Hibs freshens up the mascot scene with Sunshine the Leith Lynx now in the arena. A market once dominated by Celtic’s Hoopy the Huddle Hound and Broxi Bear at Rangers is now home to others such as Motherwell’s new mascot, Steelman, and Nutz the Squirrel at Kilmarnock. However, they are all left in the shade when it comes to media attention by Partick Thistle’s Kingsley, the maillot jaune of Maryhill!

8 The new Mexican wave
The Mexican wave is not something Scottish fans have ever taken to, but the second wave of Mexican players to these shores are likely to be under a huge amount of scrutiny. Rangers have signed two players from clubs in Mexico, Carlos Pena and Eduardo Herrera, with Pedro Caixainha spending £3 million to bring Pena to Ibrox. Celtic fans will remember the first Mexican wave, when Efrain Juarez arrived in Glasgow after the 2010 World Cup, with Celtic stumping up £2m for the midfielder. He was out the door and on his way to Zaragoza a year later.

9 Tynecastle’s main stand
Hearts are scheduled to open their new £14m main stand in November. Their Edinburgh home will be known officially as Tynecastle Park and the new 7,290-seat main stand will raise the stadium’s capacity from 17,480 to over 20,000. That will benefit the away support for Hibs, Celtic and Rangers, who are to be given all 3,000 seats in the Roseburn Stand instead of just half, as has been the case in recent seasons due to the high demand for tickets from Hearts fans.

10 New media
The SPFL has become the first national football league to join the Dugout platform, alongside 58 of the world’s biggest clubs and over 100 of the best-known football players, and will make the Premiership available to the company’s 38 million users around the world. Dugout was launched last year to deliver exclusive content straight to viewers, so the new digital channel will ensure goals from the new Premiership campaign should be seen in Delhi or Dubai as easily as Dunbar.

11 Braveheart 2
St Johnstone have watched with interest as Patrick Thistle cashed in on football’s genetic gamble last season. The Firhill club took Niall Keown — the son of former Arsenal defender, Martin — on loan from Reading in January and have since signed him on a permanent contract. St Johnstone have just given teenager Callum Hendry — son of former Scotland captain, Colin – a one-year deal after his release from Blackburn Rovers. Unlike his dad, Braveheart 2 is a striker and scored in a bounce game with Rangers, another of his father’s former clubs.