Fans’ favourite Michael Chopra vowed to be even better for Alloa in his second spell after returning to the club in the best shape he’s been in for years.

The Wasps' hero says the chance to return to Clackmannanshire and get back to playing regular football was too good to turn down.

The veteran striker, who helped guide the club to a famous play-off final win over Forfar Athletic last term, admits he is excited to get a full season at the club and he wants to hit the ground running when his new side clash with Glasgow Rangers this weekend.

Chopra told Advertiser sport: “I am delighted to be back and it is great to have a chance to make an impact from the start of the season because when I came in last year it took me to get up to speed and I didn’t have as much time to show people what I could do. I obviously managed to do that in the end, but I am pleased now to have the chance to do that and I can’t wait to get going properly.

“I have been in touch with the gaffer and the chairman throughout the summer keeping them up to speed with what was happening. I went to India and was there for two and a half weeks, but I got messed about a bit so I flew back last Thursday and told them that I wanted to come and play for Alloa again.

“I am just delighted to have sorted everything out and now I just want to get back to playing regular football again.

“It was great for me to get 45 minutes under my belt because I literally hadn’t kicked a ball since the playoff final so just to be out there playing football again is pleasing for me.

“We know we must start picking up points quickly because we don’t want to get ourselves in the same situation as last year. It is always pleasing to play in a televised game and it doesn’t get much bigger than against Glasgow Rangers. I watched them against St Mirren and they have brought some good players to the club who can cause any team problems, but we know that when we are playing at home that we can beat anyone. We proved that last season against everyone who came to Alloa. We always put up a good fight and managed to beat the big teams so I am looking forward to it.” It has been all change at the Indodrill Stadium since Chopra last graced the pitch there, but after making his second debut for the club in the 3-1 loss to QoS, he reckons the class of 2015/16 have the potential to be even better this time around.

The ex-Newcastle striker is excited at the prospect of playing alongside another tall playing partner in Geoff Mitchell after partnering the likes of Alan Shearer and Kenwyne Jones in his career and he revealed how he has urged him to hone his craft by studying other strikers of a similar size.

He said: “I have always liked working alongside a tall striker and so I am looking forward to forming a partnership with Geoff [Mitchell]. He has a load of qualities, but he just has to work on honing them. As I was growing as a footballer when I was younger, I would always watch similar players to myself play at a higher level to steal little tips from them and I think Geoff would benefit from doing that too. He is similar to a Les Ferdinand so if he can watch videos and clips of what he used to then I am sure he will become a top player one day, but it will take time. There is not many players left here from last season, but from first impressions, the players that he has brought in are all top players who maybe just need to believe in themselves a lot more. The gaffer has brought so many new players in, so it is obviously going to take time to adjust and get to know one and another. You could see from the Queen’s game that they are all comfortable on the ball and have good quality, but we just need to be more clinical.” The 31-year-old hitman revealed how he has put himself through a stringent summer training regime in order to produce his best form for Alloa in a highly competitive SPFL Championship this season.

Chopra added: “I am really excited to play in this league once again and I cannot wait to get my first goal. I showed last year that once I got one goal it didn’t take me long to get my next one and so the sooner I get my first one this time then there will be a lot more to follow. I have been working hard on my conditioning. I knew to achieve my goals for this season then I had to work hard on my own over the summer. The boys can’t believe how good I’m looking, but I still have a long way to go and I will continue to train hard everyday because I know the sooner I get fitter and sharper then I can do my best for this football club.”