Pre-season William Hill Championship title odds not reflecting current table

For the league’s title sponsors had Raith Rovers as 3/1 favourites last summer before a ball was kicked competitively, closely followed by Partick Thistle at 7/2.

This logic seemed understandable, given Raith had enjoyed an outstanding campaign in 2023-’24, finishing just six points behind second tier winners Dundee United when using an exciting brand of football under Ian Murray to reach the Premiership play-off final where they lost 6-1 on aggregate to Ross County.

Thistle too looked a shrewd choice to battle for the Championship crown, having finished third last term before only losing to Raith on penalties in the play-off semi-finals.

But, while Raith – on their third manager of this campaign after sacked Murray was followed by Neill Collins and current incumbent Barry Robson – and Thistle have suffered inconsistency this season, the current league leaders Ayr United (priced 13/2 before a ball was kicked), second-placed Falkirk (who were 11/2) and third-placed Livingston (who were 4/1), have cruised several points ahead of their rivals.

And Raith defender Liam Dick told the Fife Free Press: "You might have the best team in the league, but somebody else can just scrap away and beat you.

"If you don't turn up on the day, you're not going to win.

"We've been a bit like Partick Thistle at times this season, I think, in that we get a wee bit of momentum and then have a game where maybe it would not have been expected, but we slip up. It's such a hard league though.

“I thought Livingston might struggle this season but in fairness they've done really good.

"As for Falkirk, it's hard not to applaud what they’ve done and it looked like they were steaming away with it but Livvy and Ayr have clawed their way back in.”

On gaffer Robson’s influence, Dick added: "It's a new set up for us, the manager's not long in the door and he's trying to get messages across to the boys.

"He says there is a togetherness, he says it's a good group, everybody's quite equal, there's no characters that are overpowering. And I think that gives us really good balance, in the squad.”