SAUCHIE new boy Michael Wallace revealed he knocked back interest from senior clubs including League Two side Cowdenbeath to sign on at Beechwood Park.

The striker was a man in demand during the close season and had several options for his next move but Fraser Duncan beat the competition to snap up the experienced frontman and bolster his attacking options.

And now his latest recruit is confident he can help turn struggling Sauchie’s fortunes around.

Wallace told Advertiser Sport: “I was in with quite a few clubs over pre-season and trying to weigh up my options. Fraser kept in touch all the way through. I trained with Cowdenbeath among others and there was a chance I could have gone there but Sauchie ticked all the boxes for me.

“The manager is still on the hunt for a couple of players to come in and strengthen the squad because we are struggling a little bit. We need a couple of results to turn it round. But there is the basis of a very good squad here and once we start winning, that will give us more confidence. We just need a couple of wins and we will kick on from there.”

The former East Stirlingshire forward made his debut as the Beechwood Park side’s hearts were broken by a late winner from Dundonald Bluebell but despite the defeat, Wallace was delighted with the performance from his team-mates.

He said: “I hit the bar after two minutes and Morgy has hit the post. We had a few good chances and Darren Dolan has made a few good saves to keep them out. But when they scored in the second or third minute of stoppage time it was a sickener. I’d rather get beaten 3-0 or 4-0 than lose to a last-minute goal. The very least we deserved was a draw and that was against a team who are sitting fifth in the league. To go there and get a point would have been massive.

“We were a lot better against Dundonald than we were last week against Forfar West End.

“That has to be the level from here on in.

“Everybody worked hard and played well and with the same effort and performance the results will start to come.

“But we have to start scoring. There’s only so much the defenders and the goalkeeper can do.”

Sauchie take on Hill of Beath Hawthorn at Beechwood Park on Saturday and Wallace says if they can start picking up results, things will start to look a lot better for them.

He added: “If you can go on a run of even just three or four wins, you are suddenly sitting in mid-table and looking up rather than down. Just now it feels like everything is going against us but if we can start picking up results things will look a lot better for us.”