ANYONE thinking that Saturday’s William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Aberdeen was Hibernian’s last meaningful game of the season would be very much mistaken. Neil Lennon’s side may have got their job done by wrapping up the Championship title with weeks to spare, but at the other end of the table it very much remains all up for grabs.

Hibs will have a massive say in which side goes down automatically and which ends up in the relegation play-off place, the fixtures computer having thrown up the scenario where the Easter Road side will round off their campaign by playing the teams currently in the bottom three in the table one after the other. Most teams in their situation would be excused for easing off with the title already secured but, given the ramifications for the others, Hibs can expect to find their remaining performances under as much scrutiny as they would had it been their first three matches of the season.

With most sides now having just two games left to play, it remains remarkably tight at the foot of the Championship with four teams involved in the fight to avoid the drop. It is even more competitive towards the top of League One, with six teams still in the hunt for the final two promotion play-off slots behind champions Livingston and second-placed Alloa Athletic whose place is already secured.

Only goal difference separates the four sides in from third to sixth while Stranraer, in eighth, could still be either relegated or promoted come the end of the campaign. Play-offs may make a mockery of the notion that a league season is “a marathon not a sprint” but it undoubtedly provides an extra frisson of excitement/nervy panic for those involved. As things stand, 10 teams are in with a shot of being involved in the end-of-season Championship/League One play-offs, some more willingly than others.

Here we look at the run-in of the four teams in trouble at the foot of the Championship:

Dumbarton

7th, 38 points

Remaining fixtures: Dundee United (a), Falkirk (h)

Among the favourites to be relegated at the start of the season, the part-timers continue to confound the expectations. Saturday’s victory away to Queen of the South could well prove significant for Stevie Aitken’s side although their fluctuating form makes it almost impossible to predict what they might do next. Their sequence of results from the last nine games has followed a set pattern: draw, defeat, win, draw, defeat, win, draw, defeat, win. Five points off the bottom, the play-off spot is probably their only concern at this juncture, although Aitken will know there is little scope for complacency with so much at stake.

Raith Rovers

8th, 36 points

Remaining fixtures: Hibernian (a), St Mirren (a), Ayr United (h)

John Hughes’ side have the advantage of an extra game over their relegation rivals and it will be instructive to see what frame of mind Hibs are in for the first of those tomorrow night following their Hampden heartache at the weekend. A year on from reaching the promotion play-offs, this has been a hugely disappointing season for the Kirkcaldy club, one that cost former manager Gary Locke his job back in February. The decision to allow forward Lewis Vaughan to join Dumbarton on loan in January seems an increasingly bizarre one, while Raith will also need to drastically improve their away form if they are to stay up – they have lost all eight matches they have played on the road this year.

St Mirren

9th, 35 points

Remaining fixtures: Raith Rovers (h), Hibernian (a)

St Mirren have been a side reborn in recent months and are undoubtedly the form team in the division but even that might not be enough to keep them up. Their recent momentum was derailed on Saturday when they lost to Dundee United – their first league defeat in eight games – and they now find themselves in the relegation play-off spot. Seventeen years to the day since they beat the same opposition to win the first division title, Saturday’s home game against Raith again looks hugely significant. Should they end up in the play-offs, Jack Ross could find himself up against former club Alloa Athletic, now managed by St Mirren’s League Cup-winning captain, Jim Goodwin, or one-time St Mirren boss Gus MacPherson, now in charge of Queen’s Park.

Ayr United

10th, 33 points

Remaining fixtures: Hibernian (h), Raith Rovers (a)

Ian McCall’s side look the ones most up against it in the bid to avoid the drop, hampered both by their inferior points tally and the worst goal difference by far of the four teams at the foot of the table. Hope, though, will spring from their last two results – draws at home to Dundee United and then away to Morton – and they will likely need to avoid defeat in their last two matches if they are to preserve their Championship status. The final-day trip to Raith already has the look of a season-defining contest, where the winner will likely stay up and the loser can start preparing for life in League One. Without a win from their last five matches, Ayr will have to hope their luck can turn over what is likely to be a nervy week of football for all involved.