FRASER DUNCAN was delighted to see his team continue their winning start to 2023 on Saturday but is adamant his team have not yet reached their potential.

A 3-0 victory over Blackburn United at the weekend means Sauchie have now won three out of three this year, scoring nine and conceding none.

Their form shows they are on of the teams to watch in the division, with a visit to league leaders Linlithgow Rose up next.

Manger Duncan is confident his players can up their game further still.

He told Advertiser Sport: "At Christmas we were hitting a good bit of form and we didn't really want the Christmas break to come.

"We wanted to keep playing because we were at a good level. I felt the break hampered us a wee bit and I feel like only now are we really starting to get back to what we were.

"At Fauldhouse [a 5-0 victory] we did really well but never really hit 50 per cent if I'm being honest. [On Saturday] I still feel like we're at 70 per cent, I don't think we're quite there yet.

"We've still got a few gears to go up, we can be much better."

He continued: "Blackburn are a tricky team, they're difficult to beat but I thought we were good.

"For one wee minute when we got the penalty, we had missed three chances before that and I thought: 'If we miss this penalty it's going to be one of those days' – but it turned out not to be like that, so I'm delighted."

Ross Kavanagh won two penalties which Danny Smith converted and Duncan is thrilled with their input.

He continued: "Kav's chipping in, not with goals because he's a threat and he's getting past people. The defenders must find it a nightmare to defend against him and then Danny steps up with two penalties so excellent from the two of them.

"Danny's came off with a hamstring strain so we took a precaution with him at half-time and we took Kav off to give him a rest because he's played a lot of football.

"It's good because boys are getting back to sharpness, we're getting a few injuries cleared up but we have got a big squad and we need to make sure we use that and make it count."

The third scorer was debutant Jay McInally, but his manager feels should have taken the match ball home.

"First time on the park and he scores so I'm chuffed to bits," Duncan said. "Although, I think he could have had another couple, he could have went away with a hat-trick.

"He's a quiet lad, he wants to work hard and do well and he picked Sauchie over five or six different clubs so it's great to have Jay here with us."

Also satisfying Duncan at the moment is his squad's strength in depth and their ability to rotate the line-up without negatively impacting the performance levels.

He said: "We've got a really strong squad just now, it's just a case of keeping everybody fit and clearing up some wee niggles.

"It's all about maintaining how often people play games and that's what we're trying to do but we just need to keep playing, keep knocking the ball about and doing well."