East Fife did not reach the heights they would have wished this season, but a comfortable mid-table finish is roughly in line with what the club would have expected at the outset of the campaign, even if they would have wanted a more serious push for the playoffs.
The circumstances that Darren Young found himself in last summer when he took over the club were complicated as he was appointed late, meaning that he found it difficult to draft in the players he would have wished.
Furthermore, many of the New Bayview side’s best players proved to be injury prone, with the likes of Kevin Smith and Mark Lamont not contributing as fully as they might have due to a succession of problems. Indeed, these issues plagued the squad and made it very difficult for them to pick up any kind of consistently good run during the season.
Going forward, they were almost solely reliant on the talents of Chris Duggan, but he was not as effective as last season.
The midfield, meanwhile, was an area where East Fife strengthened, in a defensive capacity at least. Kieran Millar came into the team and was a strong performer, though by the end of the campaign there were perhaps too many players jostling for position in this area while there were weaknesses that were unable to be addressed elsewhere.
During the 2016-17 season, the centre-backs had been a sector of strength for East Fife but that was not so evident this time around, although Jonny Page and Chris Kane were both troubled by injuries over the course of the season and were not so consistent. Aaron Dunsmore, who was signed in January as a right-back, actually proved more effective further up the field.
There is certainly a taste of underachievement and frustration, and over the summer significant changes will be made. Out will go the injury prone and inconsistent, and over the next 12 months Young will really have the chance to lay his mark on the club.
