SAUCHIE assistant Adrian Hanson has backed his players to put last weekend’s defeat to one side as they get set to tackle a local derby on Saturday.

The Beechwood Park outfit will make a short journey to Falkirk to take on local rivals Camelon Juniors in the first round of the Alex Jack Cup on Saturday, September 1.

Sauchie suffered a 3-1 home defeat to Tranent last Saturday, but Hanson is confident that the young side won’t be fazed by that.

He told Advertiser Sport: “We are hopeful going into it. It is always a tough game against Camelon and we have been on the losing end there before, but it will be a good game.”

Dismissing any talk of a hangover from last week’s defeat, Hanson said the players’ performance in the match was one of the best so far.

He continued: “I wish we were playing tonight to be honest. The first half was as good as we have played all season.

"Then we came out in the second half and fell asleep. After the red card the wheels just came off.

“The manager made the decision to go with a young squad this season, so when they’re on top they need to learn to take their chances so that these kind of things don’t happen again.

“But a local derby is the best game to respond and it will be great for the fans.”

Despite the young squad, the assistant boss said making any changes wouldn’t weaken it.

He said: “The team has done really well so far. It is such a big squad that when anyone comes out, then it won’t weaken the team on the field.

“Terry Hewitt has been out injured but he is back, although [Darren] Cummings got injured at the weekend, so we are waiting to see if he will be fit to play.”

The match will take place at Camelon’s Carmuirs Park at 2.30pm on Saturday.