Coming off the back of their record-breaking poor season in the Championship, Brechin City were unable to stabalise themselves in League One and crashed into the basement tier.
Initially, they kept faith with Darren Dods, the manager who saw them go through last season winless, yet they elected to jettison him in November, when the team had picked up 13 points from 12 matches. Barry Smith was swiftly appointed, and while he oversaw a 4-0 win over Forfar in his first match in charge, the change would prove in the long term to be a disaster.
A run of seven straight losses followed to plummet Brechin deep into relegation trouble, and while a glut of January signings threatened to reverse the trend for a period, it did not last.
City struggled offensively throughout the season. In the past they have relied upon Andy Jackson to find the net but the Northern Irishman was unable to inspire his troops this time around, though he contributed 11 goals, albeit only four after November 10.
Boris Melingui was quickly dispensed of after a promising start, and Ross Kavanagh did little better in the second half of the season after being signed from Peterhead. Key injuries in the midfield struck, with Callum Tapping’s season-long absence a huge blow to a team lacking creativity and drive from that area of the park. When it came to the crunch, they also saw others, such as Craig Thomson and Scott Robertson, miss vital matches. Even the defence did not function as expected, with Paul McLean especially disappointing.
It was fitting that Brechin were relegated after a 1-1 draw with Stenhousemuir in a virtual shootout. The Warriors were down to 10 men twice against City over the course of the season and once down to nine, yet in none of these games could Smith find a way to get his side to win. As such, they deservedly finished bottom of the pile.
