ALLOA first team coach Lee Sharp revealed he is delighted to be back at work after pre-season training got underway last week.

The former Clyde man, who will form part of Jack Ross' backroom team at the Indodrill Stadium, says the new campaign gives the management a chance to make their mark.

Sharp told Advertiser Sport: “I always looked forward to pre-season even though a lot of players don't. It is good to be back. There are a lot of new faces but the boys who have been here for a while will help the new guys settle in. We want to put our stamp on things before the new season in terms of what our expectations are.

“It feels like we are starting with a clean slate. When you come in halfway through a season, whether that is the manager at the end of December or myself a week or so later, you are coming in to a team where players are already established. You don't want to change too much because you have to work with what you've got, but now we have done our homework. We have looked at certain players, how we are going to play, who we need to bring in and how we're going to go about the season. It is a fresh start for everyone.”

Sharp revealed he has known the Wasps gaffer since their playing days and says he jumped at the chance to move to Alloa after a spell coaching at Clyde.

He said: “I've known Jack for a long while. He was at Clyde and I was at Ayr, so we were playing directly against each other, and we have kept in touch over the past five or six years. I went and did my coaching badges just after he finished his 'A' Licence so he was helping me out with that. There has always been a mutual respect and friendship. When he got the job here, he got in touch and said he would like me to come in and help him. I was delighted to accept and work at first-team level because I had only briefly done that at Clyde before under Jim Duffy.

“We have a good squad of staff there to help the guys. Everybody has their part to play and it has really come together. Everyone knows where we are and what we need to do to get there so we are hopeful.”

The former defender is taking nothing for granted but is hopeful of the Wasps making an immediate return to the Championship.

Sharp added: “The likes of ourselves and Livingston were always going to be installed as the favourites to go back up. If we do things the way we have planned and if things go to plan then I dare say we will be there or thereabouts at the end of the season.

"There are a lot of things involved in that but our expectations are that we will be up there at the end of the season. With the squad of players we've put together and the way the manager works, I'm sure everything will go fine.”