Alloa striker Isaac Layne insists they will not take Brora Rangers lightly after the two sides were paired together in the first round of the Petrofac Cup at Dudgeon Park on July 25.

The Wasps were handed the long trek north as the first step on their journey to emulate last season’s run to the final and their young hitman would love to help them go one step further this time around.

The former Southend United star almost turned their final defeat to Livingston on its head when he smashed the crossbar only minutes after climbimg off the bench late on with the score at 2-0 and admits he now hopes to use that agony as motivation to progress in this season’s competition.

Layne told Advertiser sport: “Brora will be a tricky because they did really well last season in getting to the League Two playoffs. It is our first game of the season and it will come off the back of a long journey to get there so we certainly won’t be taking them lightly. We will need to be switched on from the first minute if we want to advance.

“It is always difficult to go into games against non-league sides because they will be up for it as underdogs and be looking at us as a scalp to take. We got to the final last season and we should have won it, but we just didn’t turn up on the day so I want to try to win it this year. We proved we have what it takes, but we will take it one round at a time and see what happens. Obviously, I came on in the final and hit the bar at 2-0. If that goes in, it’s 2-1 with 20 minutes left and a totally different game so I was gutted to see it come back out. It just wasn’t to be.” Layne is now targetting this season as his breakthrough year and sees the departure of deadly duo Liam Buchanan and Greig Spence as a massive opportunity to stake his own claim for a first team berth.

He said: “This year I have been working really hard on my game and so hopefully I can score a lot of goals this season. I was sad to see Spence and Bucks leave this summer because they are both good lads, but when one door closes another one opens and now is the chance for me to knuckle down and try to grab a spot in the team. That’s what I aim to do by working hard in training and looking to impress the manager in the friendlies. They both obviously had very good seasons with one being player of the year and the other getting young player of the season so theirs are big boots to fill, but I am looking forward to the challenge now and it is one I am definitely up for. I learned a lot in my first six months at the club. I was getting to know the league and experiencing playing at the likes of Rangers and Hibs for the first time. I have turned 20 now and hopefully with those experiences behind me I can kick off and be ready for the challenge ahead.” The 20-year-old is excited to have a whole season working under gaffer Danny Lennon and believes their miraculous playoff win is proof that they can shock a lot of people once again this season in the SPFL Championship.

Layne added: “Danny is a very good manager who is very hands on with his coaching. I learn something new with each session with him at the moment so I looking forward to working under him for the whole season. He worked miracles to keep us last season against all the odds so I think with a whole season under him we can shock a lot of people this year and turn a lot of heads Alloa’s way.”