Had we won our final game of last season, we'd still have another fortnight before things kicked off. Instead, we have a cup game against a lower league side - something we've never done well in. Since 2004, Forfar, Gretna, East Fife, St. Johnstone and Dunfermline have all managed to knock us out of various cups while playing in a division below us. Give us a game where we are the favourites and we struggle. Give us a game where we're the underdogs - like last year's cup game against Celtic - and we'll do better than expected.
Tomorrow is one of those games where we're the favourites. East Stirlingshire are a third division side and most people will probably be expecting us to hammer them. However, we should not underestimate them. They are not the joke club they were a few years ago. They very nearly won promotion last season and have a good manager in Jim McInally. The plastic surface should also help them - as should the fact they signed a goalie yesterday! We may have hammered them 7-0 when we last met in 2002, but there's little chance of a repeat of that tomorrow.
We have three injury doubts for tomorrow's game and, surprisingly, none of them are Steven Robb, Tom Brighton, Stephen O'Donnell or Craig Dargo. Whether the world will explode if all four of them manage to make the pitch at the same time without losing a limb remains to be seen. The three that are missing are David Barron, Chris Smith and Hugh Murray. Only Shuggy would have been a starter tomorrow and we have enough midfielders to cope with his absence - although none of them offer the same amount of dig and battling qualities.
After four new signings during the summer, it'll be interesting to see how we line up. Chris Innes was only signed last night and will probably have to make do with a place on the bench, but Paul Gallacher, Lee Mair and Michael Higdon will probably start. The back line picks itself - with Gallacher in goals and Jack Ross, John Potter, Mair and Mo Camara making up the defence. The fact we still have Potter and Camara, and they're first choice, does not make for good reading.
The midfield will be a bit more interesting. Andy Dorman should start, but it's anyone's guess who the three players alongside him will be. Stephen O'Donnell has done well in pre-season and probably deserves a start, while we should maybe take advantage of the fact Robb and Brighton are fit and play one of them. Steven Thomson should probably start in the middle, leaving no room for Stephen McGinn or Garry Brady. If Higdon starts up front he'll almost certainly be partnered by Craig Dargo, although there's an outside chance we could go for the battering ram approach and play Billy Mehmet as well.
It really is anyone's guess how we line up tomorrow and how we do, but it should give the first indications of what we can expect in the coming weeks and months.