Stirling Albion unveiled former player Stuart McLaren as their manager last week and the new man admits he is thrilled to be back at Forthbank.

The new boss, who was unveiled on Sunday, met the Binos squad for the first time on Tuesday night as he became the arduous task of turning around the fortunes of the club he loves and lifting the club from the foot of the League One table.

McLaren joined the Binos from Wollongong Wolves in October 1996 and scored his first goal in a 3-1 win on a snow-covered pitch at Bayview on New Year’s Day 1997. He enjoyed two seasons with the club before he left Forthbank in 1998 on route to spells with Hong Kong Rangers, Brisbane Strikers and Brisbane Roar towards the end of his playing career.

The move into coaching and management was a natural progression for and he has most recently been working with Loughborough University, but he admits the chance to return to professional football was too good to turn down.

McLaren said: “I had two seasons here and they were two of the most enjoyable of my career so I’m delighted to be back. All I wanted to do on the pitch was to give my best and it will be the same in the dug-out. Martyn Corrigan and I will be fully committed to the club and will be giving it everything we have.

“I was working in the professional game in Australia before I came back to the UK and it was a wonderful opportunity at Loughborough.

“I’ve really enjoyed the job, and it’s been great for my learning and development, but there was always that ambition to get back in the professional game.” The new gaffer will be assisted by former Stenhousemuir manager Martyn Corrigan and their first match in charge will be Saturday’s William Hill Scottish Cup third-round replay with Hurlford United at Forthbank.

Meanwhile, Albion chairman Stuart Brown firmly believes he has found the right man to take the club forward and cannot wait to see what he brings to the table.

The 39-year-old has been the head coach at Loughborough University since 2011 and was previously in charge of Brisbane Strikers before a spell as assistant at North Queensland Fury in the Australian A-League.

The chairman revealed last week that the club had received a massive number of applications for the post, but he says McLaren stuck out.

Brown added: “We are delighted to announce the appointment of Stuart McLaren as our new manager on a contract until the end of season 2015/16. We received more than 30 applications for the post and felt that Stuart was the outstanding candidate.

“He has 10 years’ experience working as an assistant and head coach in senior professional clubs and elite youth development programmes in Australia and England and has a strong network of contacts in various areas of the game in the UK.

“The new management team met the players for the first time at training on Tuesday night and we are all looking forward with optimism to the rest of the season.”