SAUCHIE have boosted their ranks with the signing of experienced striker Darren Gourlay.

The 27-year-old was on the books of Hearts and spent time with English side Peterborough United as a youngster before returning north of the border to sign for East Fife.

Gourlay has since gone on to feature at junior level for Newtongrange Star, Musselburgh Athletic and Livingston United.

Manager Fraser Duncan is now hoping that his new recruit can help his side turn their season around after a difficult start which has seen them drop into the Super League relegation zone.

He told Advertiser Sport: "We've been like Jekyll and Hyde this season and the main aim over the past few weeks has been to try and fix that.

"Daz will give us the strength and speed we need to make a difference up front.

"He was full-time at Peterborough for a while so he clearly has a bit of talent about him. I've been very impressed when he has come in and trained with us.

"That brings our squad back up to 16 and we need to keep it at that now. We are now getting to a point where I'm happy with it, and it's becoming a lot more settled."

Duncan was keen to reinforce his squad after a number of players departed in the last month including last season's top scorer Ryan Millar and former East Stirling striker Michael Wallace, whose stint at Beechwood Park lasted less than a fortnight.

The Sauchie boss admitted that he has had to make some tough decisions in an effort to change his side's fortunes for the better, but is now looking forward to adding the final touches which he hopes will propel his squad up the table.

He added: "The ins and outs over the last month have had to happen because of the results we have had. It's a results-driven business and we can't afford to have results like we've been having, so I have had to make changes.

"With any luck I'll be able to settle the squad down now. I'll hopefully be able to add one more player before the winter break just to boost the numbers a bit. I don't know who it will be yet but after that, that will be us.

"We had to change things because we didn't start the season well and we haven't been able to start with the squad I wanted to start with. That's been frustrating for me but we need to get ourselves out of this relegation battle."