With only three days until the season kicks-off, Straight to the Boot analyses who will be promotion pushers, who will finish mid-table and who will be flirting with relegation come 25th April.

Promotion Pushers

Burton Albion

After narrowly missing out on promotion in the past two seasons, Burton Albion will hope that it’ll be third time lucky for them. And as the Brewers have held onto strikers Billy Kee and Adam McGurk, the Staffordshire club has an excellent chance of mounting a serious promotion challenge again this campaign.

Bury

Last season was all about recovering from relegation for Bury and their 12th place finish reflects this. However, the marque signing of Ryan Lowe, who finished as League One’s fifth top scorer, shows the club’s intent this year. Bury fans will be desperate to regain League One status so expect the team to be pushing for promotion.

Carlisle United

Carlisle ended their eight-year spell in the third tier by finishing 22nd, but the Cumbrian club has plenty of experience and talent to bounce back up. David Amoo and Billy Paynter will offer great options in attack whilst young defender Courtney Meppen-Walter will bring a new dimension alongside Sean O’Hanlon in defence. Their season may not go completely to plan; nevertheless Carlisle could sneak into the play-offs if they adjust well to life in League Two.

Dagenham & Redbridge

There have been a lot of changes at Victoria Road for the Daggers after the end of last season. A number of player’s contracts weren’t renewed however Rhys Murphy and captain Abu Ogogo are still at the club and alongside the new signings, especially Jamie Cureton, Dagenham & Redbridge can push on from their 9th place finish last season and close the gap to the play-offs.

Northampton Town

The Cobbler’s previous two seasons could not be more opposite. In 2012/13 Northampton only just lost out on promotion after being beaten in the play-off final by Bradford City, but last season the club stared at relegation from the Football League for the majority of the campaign. (Thankfully for the fans the team pulled themselves out of the predicament.) Manager Chris Wilder has made a couple good signings in Chesterfield striker Marc Richards and Bristol Rovers midfielder John-Joe O’Toole during the break so Northampton should be capable of relighting promotion aims again.

Plymouth Argyle

As long as Luke McCormick’s controversial appointment as captain doesn’t unsettle the team then the Pilgrims will be serious contenders for promotion this season. Reuben Reid is arguably one of the league’s best strikers and as John Sheridan signed Deane Smalley from Oxford recently, Reid has a perfect strike partner to accompany him after Conor Hourihane moved to Barnsley. It could be a great year to be a Plymouth fan.

Southend United

With former Hull manager Phil Brown at the helm, Southend have a brilliant opportunity to continue their good form from last season which saw the Seasiders finish in the play-offs. Fans will be hoping that the club can go one better this year and secure promotion and after keeping the spine of the team whilst bringing in a few new faces too, it’s a great possibility.

York City

Compared to their play-off rivals last season, York didn’t score as many goals, so manager Nigel Worthington has definitely strengthened his team in the right areas through the signing of striker Jack Hyde, accompanying Wes Fletcher and Ryan Jarvis. This means an improvement on their impressive 7th place last season is a very possible outcome for the Minstermen.

Mid-table Settlers

Luton Town

Conference champions by a country-mile, Luton will be looking for at least a solid finish in their first season back in League Two. Last year’s top scorer Andre Gray has moved to Brentford which does leave a deficit that will need to be filled by Alex Wall, Mark Cullen or Paul Benson for the Hatters to have any chance of challenging for promotion. Their squad is very large compared to their rivals though which could prove vital come the end of the season.

Mansfield Town

Mansfield is another club who has brought in a number of new signings during the summer. Forwards Alex Fisher and Liam Hearn are both hungry to show their ability after a spell abroad and unfortunate injury concerns respectively, so hopefully both can start their season strongly. Manager Paul Cox will be looking to consolidate the eleventh place finish from last season, which would be considered a success for the Nottinghamshire club.

Morecambe

Morecambe’s problem over the past few years is their lack of consistency. Strong starts to the seasons are often followed by poor results after Christmas and vice versa. However Jim Bentley has been working the team hard and this season the team are due a bit of luck after star man Jack Redshaw spent most of last season injured. With him fit and scoring, the Shrimps should be able to secure a mid-table finish.

Newport County

In comparison to other teams, not much has changed for the Exiles except a new drainage system beneath Rodney Parade. Whether this is a good thing or not won’t be clear until the season gets underway but Newport does possess a squad capable of a top-half finish, especially if striker Chris Zebroski can better his goal tally from last year (13).

Oxford United

Having taken over in summer, Michael Appleton will want to surpass his predecessor’s 8th place finish and finish in the play-offs. It will be a difficult task nonetheless as Oxford could struggle to score enough goals this year. Their main source falls on Danny Hylton now after last season’s top scorer, James Constable, moved to Eastleigh and if Hylton struggles it could be a long season for the Yellows. A mid-table finish will be a great result considering the instability in recent months.

Portsmouth

Hopefully Pompey’s woes are all over now and the club can focus on working its way back up the leagues. In terms of their squad they have the right mix of experience and youth and along with the appointment of Andy Awford as manager after he excelled as their caretaker, they have a great chance this year. However their weakness is the lack of goals scored by strikers, but if Ryan Taylor and Tom Craddock can rectify that, then Portsmouth could sneak promotion. Either way the club is in dire need of some stability so another mid-table finish wouldn’t go amiss for the seaside club.

Shrewsbury Town

After failing to find the right calibre of players to become a real force in League One, Shrewsbury became one of the four teams relegated last season. This drop led to two of their top players, Jon Taylor and Tom Bradshaw, leaving the club which will be a large void to fill. The return of club striker James Collins will bring some positivity though, but it will more than likely be a mid-table finish for Shrewsbury before they are ready to give League One another shot.

Stevenage

As a team Stevenage will be one of the fittest in the league, which will be a huge advantage come the final stretch of games. Nevertheless, it’s that beginning period which could prove the difference between promotion and mid-table for Graham Westley’s side who have a lot to prove after finishing bottom in League One. A top-half finish should definitely be on the cards even though they let top scorer Francois Zoko leave as a free agent.

Tranmere Rovers

Long-term goals are the main objective for the Merseyside club after relying on the loan market for the past few seasons. Losing top scorer, Ryan Lowe, to Bury will be a massive loss however new arrivals Marcus Holness, Matt Gill and Kayode Odejayi should help to boost other areas in the team whilst youngster Roarie Deacon aims to make a name for himself up top. A mid-table finish will be a good stepping stone in Rovers’ plans.

AFC Wimbledon

There are a lot of new faces at Kingsmeadow for the start of this season. After offloading Jack Midson, Seb Brown, Will Antwi, Peter Sweeney, Luke Moore and Rhys Weston the replacements have been flocking in. Most notably is the loan signing of Bournemouth striker Matt Tubbs, who could be startling with bigman Adebayo Akinfenwa if both stay injury-free. As long as the new players gel then Wimbledon should be capable of a mid-table finish.

Relegation Contenders

Accrington Stanley

Young coach James Beattie doesn’t have a lot of managerial experience to fall back on if things go pear-shaped but after salvaging their Football League status last season, he will be full of confidence if a similar situation arises. Not blessed with a team packed with talent though, Stanley will need to be astute in the transfer market to make the most of what’s on offer for them otherwise it could be sayonara for the Lancashire team.

Cambridge United

The U’s have brought in some good personnel to try and avoid dropping straight back down to the Conference. Robbie Simpson was brought in from Leyton Orient and will be tasked with scoring the necessary goals whilst goalkeeper Chris Dunn will be essential in keeping them out at the other end. There’s definitely potential for Cambridge to do well and finish mid-table but it will be difficult at times and if Richard Money’s side isn’t too careful, they could get dragged into the relegation dogfight.

Cheltenham Town

The Gloucestershire club went backwards last season after reaching the play-offs in consecutive years just before. A slow start snowballed into total anarchy in which the Robins were lucky to finish 17th, leaving Mark Yates an almighty challenge to turn player morale and attitude around in time for this season. Currently, Cheltenham is one of the favourites to go down and if they get off to a similar bad start it could be curtains.

Exeter City

Increasingly troubling financial problems look set to hinder Exeter even more this season as the club are currently under a transfer embargo after borrowing £100,000 from the PFA to help ends meet. And with the only feeling of positivity coming from the manager, Paul Tisdale, it could be a very long season for fans with the only visible encouragement being that a lot of home-grown youngsters will be given opportunities to flourish during this campaign.

Hartlepool United

There are some extremely talented youngsters at Victoria Park from 18 year-old midfielder Brad Walker to 19 year-old star striker Luke James, but it’s their lack of experience within the team that leave them open to a lot of problems, especially in terms of consistency. Hartlepool can go from a six-game winning streak to a six-game winless run in the blink of an eye and if they lose their star youngsters during the January transfer window, which is extremely probable, their whole season could derail.

Wycombe Wanderers

Wycombe looked down and out going into their final game last season but a victory against already-relegated Torquay United and a bit of good fortune from Mansfield kept the Chairboys singing for one more year. Something big needs to change if Wycombe are going to avoid another relegation battle though. Their top scorer only managed nine goals (Matt McClure) which isn’t nearly enough if Wycombe want to be competitive in an already tight league where fine margins prove to be the difference.

Who do you think will get relegated? Who’s your tip for champions? Leave your opinions below.