SAUCHIE boss Martin Mooney is hopeful of adding more new faces to his squad before the East of Scotland League season begins.

The manager has fielded two trialists during pre-season, most recently in Saturday’s defeat to Glenafton Athletic, and hopes to be able to bring them to Beechwood Park on a permanent basis.

And the former East Stirlingshire coach is pleased with how his squad is shaping up ahead of the new campaign.

Mooney told Advertiser Sport: “We have had a couple of trialists in with us during pre-season and I have been impressed with them. I will have a conversation with them at training later this week about getting them signed up.

“They have done really well and I am really hopeful we will be able to speak to them.

“We have still got a couple of boys to come back in – Lewis Small and Kyle Turnbull are due back this week and I’m looking forward to having them involved. We will try and give them some game time.

“I am really happy with how things are going.”

Mooney is still hopeful of arranging another pre-season game to ensure his players are set for the season – and is particularly keen to ensure they are able to play at Beechwood before the competitive action kicks off.

He said: “We are still looking to get another game arranged for next week. It may be a bounce game against the junior side.

“A lot of the boys have played a lot of minutes over the course of pre-season so it has been very good in terms of preparation. They are looking ready.

“The only thing is they haven’t played at Beechwood Park yet because of the work that’s been happening at the ground. Ideally, I want them to have played there before the season starts because it’s important to get used to your home ground.

“I am really pleased with how well we have prepared for the season. I can’t wait for it to start and I’m sure the boys are the same.”