Hamilton hopes that Old Firm can be challenged

SPL VETERAN Jim Hamilton reckons the only certainty about the upcoming campaign is that there will be plenty of surprises.

Having represented five of the country's 12 top-flight teams - Hearts, Dundee United, Aberdeen, Motherwell and St Mirren - the 34-year-old striker, now with Arbroath, is better placed than most to offer his opinion on what might be about to unfold between tomorrow and next May.

On paper, Rangers and Celtic should fight it out for the title; Dundee United, Hibs, Hearts and Motherwell ought to vie for the European spots; and Inverness, Kilmarnock and St Mirren are set to battle against the drop.

But Hammy admits he's long since stopped trying to guess how things are going to pan out as he feels the SPL is far too unpredictable to make sense of.

"Right throughout the league - from who is going to win the league, to who will qualify for Europe, who will finish in the top six, and who will get relegated - it's just so hard to predict," he said.

"It's the same every year, people try and predict what's going to happen but it's too tight to call. On any given day, every team in the SPL is capable of beating every other team, including the Old Firm. But over the course of a season, it usually becomes a two-way battle between the Old Firm and then another league develops between the other ten teams.

"Rangers and Celtic are still way in front of everyone else in my opinion. Every year somebody comes out the pack and tries to challenge them but they just don't have the strength in depth to do it over a whole season.

"But hopefully this is the year when a team can give Rangers and Celtic a proper challenge. United did really well last season, Hibs are always there and thereabouts and Hearts have strengthened so it could happen this season because both Old Firm teams have lost a few big players over the summer."

Hamilton also suspects there may be an uprising from some of the sides more readily associated with the bottom six. As such, he's hard-pushed to pick a favourite for relegation. "St Johnstone did really well last season and were unlucky not to finish in the top six," he said.

"Derek McInnes has strengthened them over the summer so they could be pushing for top six.

"Hamilton have also been there and thereabouts over the past two seasons and will be in contention and Aberdeen were disappointing last year so they'll also be pushing to get back into the top half. And then there's Kilmarnock and St Mirren who both have new managers while Inverness are usually a steady team - you just don't know what's going to happen. I'm sure at least one of them will challenge for the top six."