Celtic will defend their title after dramatically pipping Hearts to glory last season, and the Scottish Premiership returns this Friday. After the post-World Cup noise has faded, attention turns back to a league that promises another season of title battles, managerial changes and VAR debate.
Here are the top takes to hook you back in.
What is the magic number to win Scottish Premiership?
That remains one of the league’s perennial questions, but the title race is already framed by Celtic’s defence of the trophy they won after dramatically edging Hearts last season.
Who has your Premiership club brought in & let go this summer?
Summer business has been a major theme across the division, with several clubs reshaping their squads ahead of the new campaign.
Can Hearts win the title?
Hearts’ players were on the brink of history and immortality. It was nine minutes away. Four decades of Old Firm dominance was that close to toppling, with the season-long league leaders drawing with holders Celtic in Glasgow as the game crept into the 87th minute.
It looked like they were just about to hold until Daizen Maeda struck to trigger bedlam in Paradise.
Ugly scenes followed Celtic’s third deep into injury time as Hearts headed straight for the team bus, eventually reemerging outside Tynecastle with tears spilling from their faces.
Since then, the backbone of that team has been deconstructed. Boss Derek McInnes has departed for Tynecastle, taking with him captain and talisman Lawrence Shankland, as well as midfield controller Cammy Devlin.
Wouter Vrancken has arrived from Sint-Truiden and the Belgian has suffered a tumultuous start.
A 6-0 hiding from Sturm Graz sent Hearts tumbling out of Champions League qualifying, with the Tynecastle support looking at the club’s analytical approach to signings to somehow hoist them back to the lofty heights they hit last term.
"Hearts just look as if it's just a new squad flung in together, with the manager too, trying to find their way," said former striker Ryan Stevenson.
"You don't get time in football, it's game after game after game.
"If you don't get results, we all know what Tynecastle is like. It can be electric, but can they deal with the stadium turning? Are they big enough characters to deal with that?
"If they don't play well, I would give it to mid-September, and it would not be nice."
Vrancken says Hearts are just missing sharpness.
Are there already worrying signs for Vrancken's Hearts?
The early evidence suggests the rebuild has been difficult, with a heavy European defeat and a new manager trying to settle a side that has been significantly altered since last season’s near-miss.
Have Celtic improved under O'Neill?
The short answer is... well... we really do not know yet. Last season’s domestic double was followed by Martin O’Neill remaining as boss, offering some continuity after the most unique of campaigns.
However, there still has been plenty of disquiet among supporters.
Anti-board sentiment was present last term before and after Brendan Rodgers’ shock departure, with Wilfried Nancy’s alarmingly short tenure doing little to help.
In a bid to quell matters, a fan engagement programme, external was launched on Thursday.
At the heart of the unrest though, ultimately, is what - and who - happens on the park.
The Parkhead side have made two signings this summer - Camilo Duran and Kasper Hogh - for reported combined fees of around £15m.
However, talismanic forward Daizen Maeda has left to join Ipswich Town and O’Neill is keen to get high-calibre players through the door sooner rather than later.
Celtic have been linked extensively with Real Oviedo and Egypt winger Haissem Hassan, as well as Paderborn midfielder Mika Baur.
"I think we're trying to get some quality into the football club," O'Neill told Sky Sports.
Celtic are also being talked about as a good fit for record signing Hogh.
Can McInnes turn the tide for Rangers?
The former Ibrox player was so close to legendary status and a league winner’s medal with Hearts in May. Now, he’s aiming to do just that in Glasgow.
A 2-1 win over St Etienne and a goalless draw with West Ham in pre-season friendlies have offered tentative encouragement. Ultimately, Rangers need consistency and an identity that was lacking last term.
Danny Rohl hauled Rangers in the title hunt going into the split, only to then lose four of their five remaining matches.
Long-term captain James Tavernier has left, so too have goalkeeper Jack Butland and forward Oliver Antman.
McInnes and Rangers appear to have made some shrewd moves in the transfer market already in the opposite direction.
South Africa defender Olwethu Makhanya is the eighth new recruit to arrive, while Shankland has been appointed skipper and the acquisition of young Serbia international midfielder Vanja Dragojevic looks a savvy one.
But is it enough to shift the balance of power away from Glasgow’s east end?
Is McInnes era giving Rangers fans fewer fears of failure?
That question will be answered over the course of the season, but there is at least some tentative optimism after the early recruitment drive and those pre-season results.
Will VAR continue to be key talking point?
Scotland is not alone with an obsession over video assistant referees and the application of the technology across the game.
Earlier this week associations were told VAR should only intervene over "blatant" incidents.
Incredibly, this will be the fifth season of VAR’s use in Scotland and fans still remain divided.
In the most high-profile incident, former Motherwell midfielder Elliot Watt and McInnes were both sanctioned for fuming over the decision to award Celtic a late penalty at Fir Park in the penultimate game of last season.
Watt described it as
"the worst VAR decision in history", while McInnes claimed it was
"disgusting".
Last week St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari said he believes the system will get better after a meeting with the Scottish Football Association’s VAR manager Martin Atkinson.
The Finn also said maybe in Scotland there needs to be more
"patience".
What else to look out for?
As if all that wasn’t enough, there are five managers starting permanent tenures at clubs in McInnes, Vrancken, Alfred Johansson at Motherwell and O’Neill and Craig McLeish taking on the role proper at Celtic and St Mirren respectively.
Speaking of Motherwell, Scotland’s answer to Barcelona last season have lost key players in Watt and New Zealand World Cup hero Elijah Just, but have managed to retain their methodical footballing approach as well as the likes of Tawanda Maswanhise and Lukas Fadinger.
Can Johansson kick on from the Jens Berthel Askou blueprint and keep the crowds swelling at Fir Park?
You also have a first full season at Pittodrie for Stephen Robinson and proper grass at Kilmarnock, who have ditched their artificial surface.
How can I follow Scottish football?
As always, the BBC has you covered.
Online, you can to your own team’s page which will deliver news, insight, analysis, features and video direct to you.
We will also provide live text coverage of every single Scottish Premiership match.
You can follow the latest video content across all our social channels, as well as on the BBC Scottish Football YouTube channel for bespoke video.
On television, Sportscene has you covered for highlights starting on Friday as Dundee United host Rangers. You can catch the show on BBC and BBC One Scotland at 23:35 BST.
And on radio, follow exclusive radio commentary and top punditry on Sportsound, while Stuart Cosgrove and Tam Cowan, the Odd Couple of Scottish Football, will continue to bring you the best petty and ill-informed show on the airwaves, Off The Ball.
Key Facts
- The Scottish Premiership returns this Friday.
- Celtic will defend the title they won after pipping Hearts last season.
- Hearts, Celtic, Rangers, Motherwell, Kilmarnock, St Johnstone, St Mirren and Dundee United are among the clubs discussed.
- VAR enters its fifth season in Scotland.
- Sportscene begins highlights coverage on Friday as Dundee United host Rangers.
