DAVID CROSS knows as much as anyone when he’ll next be able to take to the pitch and pull on the red of Sauchie Juniors.

But, one thing the 24-year-old is sure of is there is nowhere he’d rather be when football’s long shutdown eventually comes to an end.

The defender, who has shown a remarkable knack for finding the back of the net from the penalty spot in two years in Clacks, became one of the first to agree a new deal last week to extend his stay with Sauchie next season.

Brought to the club by former boss Iain Diack, he was joined by Mark Finlayson, Ant McTaggart, David McCaughie, Iain Syme, and skipper Jon Tully in putting pen to paper on another season with the Premier Division club.

Alloa and Hillfoots Advertiser: Cross was brought to the club by former gaffer Iain Diack Cross was brought to the club by former gaffer Iain Diack

For Cross, it was an easy decision to make and he is now raring to go whenever the day comes football is given the go ahead again.

He told Advertiser Sport: “I am really excited and ever since Fras and Davie have taken over there has been a different feeling about the club and it is a lot more positive.

“Everyone is a lot more focussed and raring to go.

“We were all a bit upset with the way the season ended and we all felt we had enough about us to get out of the danger zone and to safety; not that we were far from being guaranteed safety.

“We were heading in the right direction and everything was heading into place for a grand end of season finish.

“We were a bit upset we didn’t get to stay up through our own merit and the joy of that was taken away from us.

“I am just looking forward to getting going and building on what we were doing at the end of the season.

“The season as a whole was a disappointment. As a club, we had hoped to get at least mid-table but it didn’t pan out that way for a number of different reasons."

Football’s Covid-19 enforced hiatus has been “upsetting” for everyone connected to Sauchie and Saturdays without his team-mates don’t get any easier.

But, Cross says he has been given hope by leagues slowly returning to action across Europe, with the German Bundesliga kicking off behind closed doors this weekend.

When the Scottish game does return, Sauchie will once again be in the East of Scotland’s top-tier and the former Stirling Albion man is convinced the club will be in a far stronger position to kick on with Fraser Duncan and Davie Beaton at the helm from the start.

“Bringing back Fras and Davie has helped me because they are both centre-backs and they have helped me to develop my game and that was showing in my performances,” Cross said.

Alloa and Hillfoots Advertiser: Cross praised the impact boss Fraser Duncan has had on his game Cross praised the impact boss Fraser Duncan has had on his game

“It’s close to home and we can be a lot better than we were this year.

“We can be pushing top-five at least, if not to make a push towards the top end of the league. It’s hard to say as last year was the first in that set-up with those teams.”