League One 2013/14 preview: Will Wolves stop the rot and mount a return to the Championship, and can Brentford recover from last-gasp heartbreak last season?

A brief look at this season's SkyBet League One which gets underway tonight

Kenny Jackett has joined Wolves with the task of taking them back up to the Championship (GETTY IMAGES)

TIPS FOR THE TOP

In terms of stature, Wolverhampton Wanderers tower over the rest of League One. The task for Kenny Jackett is to address the decay that has seen the club relegated in two straight seasons. He needs to impose the right values – as he did at Millwall – but if he does so they have the players and the resources to bounce straight back.

Brentford have their own trauma to recover from, after last season’s painful last-minute defeat to Doncaster, before losing the play-off final to Yeovil Town. But Uwe Rosler knows how to get them playing and they should compete.

Sheffield United went close last year and may have made an astute appointment in David Weir as manager, who could provide the edge they have been missing.

BASEMENT BATTLE

Can anyone arrest the downward momentum of Coventry City? Likely to play this season in Northampton, they are moving in the wrong direction fast and with paltry support they may struggle again. Shrewsbury narrowly escaped relegation last season and despite some smart additions last summer they will have to fight hard to stay afloat, as will Notts County.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

After 10 years of service at the Reebok Stadium, Kevin Davies finally left this summer but he could be the perfect man to send Preston North End back up. The 36-year-old striker has the experience, the physicality and the hunger to make a difference in the third tier.

Whether Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Bristol City’s new signing, has the hunger required is less clear, although he does have the talent. Highly rated at Arsenal as a youngster, he has yet to find his level as an adult professional.