Stirling Albion’s Mark Staunton is loving life in his new surroundings and now can’t wait for the season to begin in earnest.

The Binos returned to pre season training last week just six weeks after the end of a dismal campaign which saw them relegated to League Two, and Staunton is one of six new recruits brought in by manager Stuart McLaren.

He told Stirling News Sport: “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it so far. It’s been a busy couple of weeks, all the boys have been working really hard. We’ve had two sessions and a double session so it’s been hard but I’m settling in really well. There’s a good bunch of boys here and everyone seems to get on really well.

“We have a few games behind closed doors which will really help in getting us up to match sharpness. Unfortunately I will miss the Hearts and Oldham games as I am away on holiday but hopefully I can get a few minutes in the bounce games. We also have the Stirlingshire Cup game against Alloa so I’m hoping to be involved in that.” Staunton believes he has a duty to pass on his experience to the younger members of the squad, and insists there won’t be a repeat of last season’s mistakes.

He added: “I think I’ve been in the game long enough now to be able to class myself as one of the more experienced players, so hopefully I can pass that on to some of the younger players. What we were missing last year was a leader who would keep the side together when times were a little bit tougher. Now though we’ve got a number of guys who can keep us moving forward if that happens.” The former Celtic youth defender was looking at the positives after the Binos were handed an arduous trip to Elgin in the first round of the Petrofac Training Cup.

He said: “In terms of the draw, everybody is on a level playing field at this stage of the season. It’s a long way to go but on a four or five-hour bus journey, we will have plenty of time to bond with each other. Hopefully we can have a laugh on the way up and get ready for the game and then come back down the road in the hat for the second round.”