ALLOA hero Michael Chopra insists a positive result in Saturday's Scottish Cup third round clash with Dumbarton can help them turn around their league woes.

The Wasps hitman has been a shining light for his side in recent weeks and he believes a change in fortunes is just around the corner.

The Wee County outfit now prepare to face their relegation rivals in a league and cup double header, and the experienced forward reckons they must look to the example of what Livingston did to them last season as an example.

Chopra told Advertiser sport: “The cup game is now a chance for us to get back to winning ways. We restricted Hibs to very few chances and can take good confidence from that so we go again next week and hopefully our luck can turn. I think a positive result in the cup game could really propel us into that vital league game with some added confidence. If you look at the double header we had with Livingston last year, they knicked a late equaliser against us in the league and then had the upper hand going into the cup final, so hopefully we can do something similar. We have already won down at Dumbarton and we will look to go there and do it again because it would be good to go on a little cup run for our fans.”

Chopra and the rest of the squad were left frustrated not to get something for their efforts in the narrow 1-0 loss to High-flying Hibs last weekend, but he believes their new gameplan is something they can now look to build on.

He said: “It was disappointing to lose to Hibs having put so much into the match. We knew we had to put in a performance after letting ourselves down the previous week, but we also wanted to things right for the fans. We put a game plan together to frustrate Hibs and you could see that it was working, but its just a little mistake as a team and they've gone and punished us. That is what the good teams do, but if we had survived that then I would've been confident we could've taken something from the game. I think we looked more confident in the new system and the gaffer has asked me to play in more of a midfield role. I enjoy playing in there because I can get on the ball and link the play alongside the likes of Bobo and Homer. I am willing to play anywhere for this team as long as I am playing and able to do my bit. The most important thing is to stay in this league and now that we have something to build on with this performance, I am confident that we can kick on from here.”

The former Newcastle striker is going through a barren spell in front of goal having been the lone striker for much of the season so far at the Indodrill Stadium, but while he can sense that a goal is not too far away, he is only focused on helping the team end their run of defeats first.

Chopra added: “It has been a frustrating run for me in terms of goals and I was disappointed with the one at Ibrox because I should be sticking that one away, but I will just keep working hard and I know that it is not too far away. The most important thing though is the team and picking up points and wins is our main focus.”