MIDFIELD ace Steven Hetherington is relishing his second chance of success at Alloa Athletic ahead of the new campaign.

The versatile star looked like he was destined for the exit door at the club last season under Danny Lennon, but the arrival of new gaffer Jack Ross has given him another crack at it so he is now determined to repay that faith by nailing down a first team berth in what is a highly competitive squad for the season ahead.

Hetherington told Advertiser sport: “I am feeling good going into the new season. I missed a few games with the cut to the head I got early on in pre-season. I missed some vital game time because of that, but I made up some of that last week and this week so now hopefully I can stake my claim for a starting berth for the competitive action. It is a big season for me now. The last few seasons have been tough for me. Obviously, as a team we suffered last season as well, but ever since the gaffer came in last December, he has given me a massive boost with his faith in me.

“He has rebuilt my confidence in my own ability and so hopefully now I can repay him for that on the pitch. I feel like an important part of the team now, which was almost unthinkable six or seven months ago, and with the squad that we have it is important to grab your spot in the team when it comes along because there is competition for places all over the pitch.”

Like many others, Hetherington has been impressed by the squad the manager has now assembled at the Indodrill Stadium and he believes they are already starting to see the benefit of that on the pitch.

The Wasps completed their pre-season campaign unbeaten with a 1-0 win over League Two outfit Berwick Rangers last weekend and the former Motherwell trainee reckons the winning goal is a sure fire sign of things to come from them.

He said: It is great for our confidence to have that unbeaten run in pre-season, and to be fair we have got better with every game. We are starting to gel together nicely and I thought the winning goal against Berwick proves what we have in the squad going forward. We were patient in the build up, Homer plays the killer pass and then the cutback and finish were both tremendous. The gaffer has drilled into us that we need to be ruthless with our chances this coming season and I think that move was a great example of what we are capable of. It was a great finish by Isaac in fairness to him because it was a hard finish and he's smashed it into the top corner.

“Personally, I am looking forward to getting started now and I think it could be an exciting season for the club. The pre-season games serve a purpose for getting the legs going and finding our fitness, but it is the competitive stuff that you look forward to, so it is great that it is upon us once again. I am excited about the campaign ahead because we are playing some really nice football.

“The break is always nice to recharge the batteries, but when you are off all you can think of is getting back in for the new season. The League Cup is exciting for us and we are looking forward to getting involved in the new format. It has already threw up some interesting results and a few shocks so hopefully we can deliver a few of those ourselves. We have seen a few of the games going to penalties in the new format, but although it is not something we have rehearsed for, we have enough good players in the side who are desperate to take one anyway.”

Alloa now face a tricky trip to face Angus side Montrose at Links Park on Saturday, but the 23-year-old says the whole squad are confident they can make an impact in the competition.

Hetherington added: “Some of the bigger sides may treat the competition as an extension of pre-season, but we certainly don't see it that way. We will be going out to win every game and treating it like the start of our season. I am confident with the squad we have here that we can get the job done no matter who plays.

“The Montrose game will be a tricky encounter for us, but it is just all about preparing right for it. We know it won't be an easy place to go for us, but hopefully we can still go there, try to be positive in our approach and look to get the job done. The first away test is always a tricky one so this will be no different, but I am confident we have enough in our squad to do well in the group.”