SAUCHIE born football legend Alan Hansen was delighted to return to his old stomping grounds in the name of charity, writes Scott Binnie.

The former Sauchie Juniors, Partick Thistle and Liverpool player was at Alloa Golf Club's Schawpark course for a charity golf day in aid of CHAS alongside a host of big names from Scottish football including Craig Brown, Jim Jefferies and Pat Nevin.

The Match of the Day pundit rarely gets back to the area now but says Sauchie is still one of his favourite places to be.

Hanson told Advertiser Sport, "I'm always pleased to come back to Sauchie, it is where I was born.

"It's obviously one of my favourite places. Especially standing here at Schawpark where basically I grew up.

"I was born in Tower View which is about 100 yards away and I spent my life here.

"Unfortunately my mum and dad have gone so I've only got my Uncle John here, so now I only come up two or three times a year." The event is the brainchild of retired policeman Andrew Mathieson and he was delighted to announce that the day raised the fantastic amount of �7000 for CHAS.

Alloa Golf Club would like to thank all individuals and organisations who contributed to the event in particular the main sponsor Alloa Community Enterprises Ltd who have sponsored the tournament for the last four years.

A special thank you is extended to Willie Young who carried out the auction and the after dinner speaker, Archie Gilbert, whose witty presentation was well received.

While Hansen was happy with a great day of golf and decent weather in the stunning settings, he stressed that the important thing was the charities involved on the day.

He continued, "We had a nice day here with the backdrop of the hills, and the course itself is fantastic, just beautiful. The only thing we needed to take care of is the golf and that's easier said than done.

"Some very good causes benefit from the day. These people have turned up to give their time and money for great, important causes.

"You're playing golf with the charities in mind and just hoping everyone has a great day and the charities make a lot of money.

The course is great and by all accounts it's come on really well in the last three of four weeks. This is the time you want to play it, end of May to the beginning of June. It's a great golf course and it's always great to come back here and play it." Meanwhile, the Liverpool and Scotland legend has described Paul Hartley's Alloa Athletic tenure as "sensational." Hansen praised Hartley for securing historic back-to-back promotions for the Wasps and doing so much for the club and the town.

Hansen has always kept an eye on Alloa's results while working in England and he was delighted to see Hartley pull the club out of Division Three with such ferocity.

He said, "Back to back promotions for Alloa and Paul Hartley is absolutely sensational.

"Watching from afar, there's obviously two scores I look for in England and one's Partick Thistle who I played for and the other one's Alloa Athletic.

"I remember going into the Recs in about 1961 or 1962, looking and thinking and watching, admiring and dreaming.

"The manager's done an incredible job to get them where they are.

"It's great for Alloa, great for the town and great for everybody concerned." Hartley and Alloa have received particular praise for the business model they have adopted on their rise through the divisions, focusing on young hungry talent supplemented with experienced pro's instead of splashing large amounts of cash on players.

Hansen was quick to follow suit and said that the whole club deserve credit for their methods.

He continued, "They've done it the right way, the more money you spend then the more you'll keep on spending.

"You've got to balance the books and pay within your means, because if you don't and you reach out and spend too much money then you get in lots of trouble like some clubs have found out recently.

"But Alloa have done it the right way and it is a credit to the players and the manager but also to the people that run the club that they've done it the right way." The former Liverpool defender admits Hartley will be justifiably attracting attention from bigger clubs but hopes that the Wasps can hold on to their boss for a little bit longer.

Hansen said, "I imagine there'll be a lot of clubs wanting him as well and quite rightly so but it would be great if Alloa could keep him, because he's done such a great job.

"Nobody's saying next season's going to be easy but you've got to embrace it and enjoy being in the higher division.

"I don't know Paul personally at all but again, to come into a club and drag them up and get back to back promotions and in his first two years as a manager as well, it's just incredible." Alloa will face a daunting task next season in the First Division against a host of full-time clubs but Hansen believes they can cope with challenge.

He said, "There's no doubt that the better you become, the harder it gets but at the same time if you've got dreams and aspirations and they can consolidate then there's no reason they can't do well.

"Everybody will be rooting for them next season in the First Division."