STEFAN SCOUGALL said the decision to re-sign with Alloa was easy as he felt he didn't do enough last season.

Scougall joined the club in the summer last year but his appearances were limited. He showed plenty of glimpses of his ability – including a late winner away to Arbroath before Christmas – but never really got a run of games in the team.

Now, the 28-year-old is focused on hitting the ground running and becoming a mainstay in the club's League One promotion bid.

Scougall told Advertiser Sport: "I did have a couple of offers, [but] to be honest I didn't really look too much into them. We found out we were going to have a new gaffer [and] I was waiting to see what would happen.

"I spoke to Paddy Connolly and I spoke to the chairman, they agreed I probably should have played a lot more.

"It's the manager who ultimately makes the decisions but the way they were speaking, the ball's in my court, I need to make sure I'm coming back as fit and as ready as I can be.

"If I can get my name on the first team sheet of the season then, hopefully, I can get a run of games.

"For me, I wasn't too happy with how the season went, not playing or started as much games as I would have liked.

"That was one of the reasons I wanted to come back, not to put anything right but to prove I should have had more of a chance. I didn't want to leave, not as a failure, but not having played as much as I should have. Plus, getting relegated and having no fans, it was a strange season and I didn't want it to end like that."

That manager he refers to has now been announced as Barry Ferguson, and the appointment certainly satisfied Rangers fan Scougall.

He continued: "I've never hidden the fact, when I was down south and I was asked what time I supported, I was never afraid to say Rangers and when I was asked who I looked up to at the club, for me it was always Barry Ferguson.

"It's quite weird how football works, when I was growing up he was one of my idols, watching Rangers every week and for me, over the last 20 years, there's not been many better players than him in terms of Scottish Rangers players.

"I'm looking forward to it, as soon as I heard [the news] it gave me that excitement."

Scougall continued: "[I] spoke to him [recently], going over where he sees me playing, my best position and he wants to make sure the club is run at as high a standard as possible.

"For us, as players, it's a good thing that there's not going to be any slacking, we've got to give it 110 per cent every session. He says his sessions are high intensity which I think is good, especially for part-time players because you're missing a couple of days from the full-time teams."

Over the weeks since the season ended, certain Alloa players such as captain Andy Graham and youngster Cammy O'Donnell made no secret of their desire for Scougall to stay, and the former Sheffield United star said he's delighted his teammates think so highly of him.

"It's good, it gives you a lot of confidence," he said. "I do feel like I probably should have played a lot more [last season], I was doing well in training, working hard and a few boys were saying they couldn't believe I wasn't starting or playing more so it does give you that confidence knowing your teammates think that highly of you.

"I'm just hoping this season can be a little bit different; hopefully, I can get a run of games and it's up to me to make sure I'm playing well because if you're playing well you deserve to be in the team."

O'Donnell recently told Advertiser Sport about Scougall's ability during training sessions and how much he wanted him to stay. Now that he is, Scougall has been putting in extra work with the youngster and is hoping to pass on some knowledge from his years in the game.

He joked: "I feel like I'm 30, 35-years-old, maybe I'm ages with big Andy.

"Cammy's got a lot of potential so if there's any way I can help him to get a little bit more I'm all for it.

"It's good for the young boys to be asking questions because that's part of my role and other senior players' role in the squad. It's not as easy to just go into training and doing this or that, you need to learn.

"I've been going out for runs with Cammy recently so I'm trying to help him as much as possible to make sure he's ready to hit the ground running."