IN AMONGST the frantic search for Alloa's new manager, Paddy Connolly remains a voice of calm as he continues to quietly put in the ground work ahead of Tuesday's season opener.

The Wasps are continuing to hunt for Jim Goodwin's successor as chairman Mike Mulraney goes through the applicants with a fine-tooth comb.

And so, for the time being, the reigns are still firmly in Connolly's hands.

And while that could change at any given moment between now and the visit of Elgin in the Betfred Cup, the 49-year-old caretaker is making sure to prepare his depleted squad as best he can.

"Until I am told otherwise, I still expect to be in charge," Connolly told Advertiser Sport. "The chairman is currently rifling through applications.

"As far as I am aware, there's a good chance I will still be in charge come the first game of the season.

"But the new guy who comes in will be given a good guide as to who our strongest team is."

Connolly continued: "If there is no manager in place then I more or less know who will be my strongest team in place for the Elgin City match.

"We just have to make sure we don't pick up any injuries because of the tightness of the squad.

"We're still looking at a few trialists and we know what positions we need to strengthen in. Mike and I will just need to have a proper chat about it."

Connolly ran the rule over his squad in a closed door friendly against DetectionFoot France UK on Saturday.

But, with Iain Flannigan and Steven Hetherington still on holiday, and several other players missing with knocks, a makeshift Alloa lost 3-1.

They did, however, beat Danny Lennon's Clyde 3-2 last Tuesday as Ahmed Aloulou, Alan Trouten and Liam Buchanan got on the scoresheet.

Alloa hosted Livingston last night as Advertiser Sport was going to press in their final pre-season game.

Connolly said: "We were able to give guys some minutes who were needing them and to have a look at some trialists.

"But it was more of a relaxed setting than anything competitive.

"Clyde was more of a competitive game and a lot closer to what we expect our starting line-up to be in our first game.

"It was a fairer reflection and both sides were using the ball and trying to play in the right way."