STUART MACFARLANE has expressed his delight at signing a new deal at Sauchie and says he can't wait to prove they deserve their place in the Super League.

MacFarlane was part of the side that bounced straight back to the top flight at the first attempt last season and reckons their East Premier title win was the perfect response to relegation.

And after putting pen to paper this week, he insists already have the basis of a squad capable of competing in the Super League.

MacFarlane told Advertiser Sport: "I'm delighted to get signed on again because Sauchie is a great club. There's a great bunch of boys here.

"We are desperate to re-establish ourselves in the Super League. Getting relegated hit a lot of the boys hard because with the squad we had, we never really thought it would happen.

"We shouldn't have been in that position. That meant the boys had the bit between their teeth last season and we were all really determined to prove that we do deserve to be competing up there.

"We are going back up with a lot of good additions to the squad," he added. "Andy Shirra has already been brilliant for us and with the experience he has of playing in the Super League, he will be even more important next season.

"The likes of Iain Syme and Brian Morgan will be crucial too. On the flipside we have got a few young boys who are really good prospects, and having the more experienced boys there will benefit them too."

As well as aiming to perform in the league, MacFarlane admitted that winning the title has given the squad a taste for victory, and says they are hungry for more trophies.

He said: "Everybody has a taste of silverware now which is what every player wants. We got that feeling last season and now we want more.

"We want to experience that winning feeling again, whether that's by winning a trophy or by going on and competing in the Super League.

"Going so far in the Scottish Cup was a great experience. We played a few big teams on the way, and the buzz surrounding the competition was fantastic. I want that again and I'm sure all the rest of the boys do as well."

The defender admitted that manager Fraser Duncan's exit was not ideal preparation for the new season, but vowed that he and his team-mates would be fully focused on being ready for the start of the new campaign.

MacFarlane added: "The situation has not been ideal for us. But I'm sure the boys will come back into the pre-season training and focus on the job in hand.

"There are still talks going on and the situation hasn't been resolved just yet but we will be determined to hit the ground running, and hopefully everything else will take care of itself."