Yesterdays result and display against Livingston was a huge disappointment, the team are now seven points from safety at the bottom of the league and have certainly now made it even more difficult for the team to retain their Championship status, on the day the team under performed and paid dearly for individual mistakes, we are a far better team than yesterdays performance and it was an uncharacteristic performance to what the team have shown in recent weeks. We still have ten league matches left, with a another big game on Tuesday evening against a Dumbarton side, who have just defeated Hibernian 3-2, we now need to pick up points, the players and fans will be hurting so Tuesday nights game if we can win can readdress this very quickly.

jack ross after defeat to livingston

Losing two goals so early in the match didn’t help, but it was more down to the fact we didn’t play well today, if you don’t play well it is always difficult to get something from a game, it’s not to detract from the fact Livingston played well but you only really look at your own side and definitely after the kind of performances we have been producing over the past few months we were well below that today, it was more than losing the two early goals it was just the overall performance, if you have as many players, as we had today that didn’t play to their capabilities then it is going to be difficult to take anything from the match.

I now have to look the lift the players before Tuesday’s night’s game against Dumbarton, I have just finished speaking to the players in the dressing room after the match, it is my responsibility to lift them, as it would be for any manager, if we had won today it would not have defined our season where we would finish, but losing the game makes it more difficult, however if we go and win on Tuesday and other results go your way we will be back to where we started before today’s game, so that’s something we have to look at, it’s an incentive for us, all we can control is our own results and our focus always has been in trying to win games and see where that took us. Today is a disappointment, it is a huge disappointment but we are fortune we have a game on Tuesday, a game which we will need to try and win.

The goal just before half-time was a real disappointment, because I think at that time we were probably enjoying as good a spell we had in the game without still playing particularly well, we looked more likely to nick an equaliser than conceding another and that makes the second half difficult, we huffed and puffed in the second half but never really created very much and as the game goes on you become a bit stretched and the team who are winning create things on the break and that happened. We have defended well over the last couple of months but today individual mistakes cost us, which happens in football, but it was more than the mistakes but how you react to it within the ninety minutes and then in games beyond that.

We made mistakes at crucial times, the players know that and it cost us today. Michael Duffy has played better for us in games this season but it was good for him to get his goal, that is a plus for him, so we dust ourselves down and will go again on Tuesday.

The Wasps showed great concentration, defended superbly and stuck to their task and belief they could get a result against league leaders Rangers again on Saturday, this is the third time in the past two seasons that Rangers have failed to win at the Indodrill Stadium. Rangers certainly had their chances but the longer the game went on there was always going to be an opportunity and after Wes Foderingham had denied Dougie Hill, by tipping his header over the bar, Jason Marr headed home from Mitch Megginson’s inch perfect corner to put the home side ahead. Rangers were stunned into action and new signing Michael O’Halloran scored eight minutes from the end to rescue a point and deny Alloa their first home victory of the season. Even after this Rangers defender Danny Wilson had to react quickest to clear another dangerous ball into the Rangers box with Alloa captain Dougie Hill lurking behind him.

jack ross after draw against rangers

It’s for other people to judge if the narrowing of the pitch had any effect on today’s result, it’s obviously a factor in the way the game pans out of course it is but I must stress this was done a few weeks ago not just prior to the Rangers game, it is something we thought could help us throughout the course of the rest of the season and I think it has done, but we are still waiting for that elusive home win this season which still escapes us but we have to be delighted with the point against the team which is top of the league for a good reason that they are a really good side, so I would much prefer to talk up what my players achieved today than anything else.

I think there is a huge number of things which pleased me in the performance, you could point to individual performances like the goalkeepers, you obviously need him to go and have a big game against a team like Rangers, I think the teams organisation, their understanding of what we are trying to do and we didn’t set out to give up so much territory as was happening at times, believe me that was not our idea but it’s forced upon you at times because we were facing a good side with good players, who understand their system and do it very well, it was their discipline in that respect to continue to do the hard work was the most pleasing thing.

The spirit which the players have shown over the past six weeks has been terrific and it’s nice to see they are now starting to get some tangible reward for that in gaining another point. I have never sensed, nothing other than the belief that we can stay up, it’s something I’ve tried to install since day one, we need to stay positive, we have picked up some disappointing results even when we were playing well, that will not change and had we ended up losing today it would still have change, cause we could have, let’s be honest, I’m not going to stand here and say that we didn’t carry a bit of good fortune.

At times our goalkeeper made good saves but there was opportunities Rangers will feel they could have scored especially in the early part of the game which sometimes people forget about so we needed that today, the effort levels from my players remembering they had played on Tuesday night, they earned that bit of good fortune. Jason’s goal is something we have worked reasonably hard on with the time restraints of our training in terms of set pieces, we know now with the dimensions of the pitch that is one thing you can utilise more because the players can deliver the ball into better areas more easily because of the narrowness of the pitch it’s something we have worked on, we have good delivery in that respect and two centre half’s in particular who will get on the end of these balls very well, it was a fantastic header, I knew if we got these opportunities there was a chance, but it was just getting enough of them in these areas which was the problem.

Our next game against Hibernian is another difficult game, when we looked at the fixtures and we knew that we had Rangers & Hibernian back to back we knew it would be difficult because these two teams are at the top of the league for a good reason, and they are huge club’s as well so it’s different, we will go to a pitch which is wider, and we will come up against a different system but we will do as much preparation as we can within our time with the players, but also trying to do the things we do, in training two nights a week, there is a real balance between little bits that help you and equally trying to get other players in to help us win games as well.

In Tuesday nights rearranged fixture against Greeenock Morton, after the original game was abanded due to snow on 16th January, 2016, “The Wasps” had to battle back to secure a draw after going two goals behind early in the first half. It was important that we didn’t lose the game and the players showed a great fighting spirit and will to win against a good Morton team. The deficit at the bottom of the league has now been cut to four points drawing us nearer Livingston and keeping Dumbarton & St. Mirren within our sights. However the manager could look back on the game thinking “The Wasps” might have snatched a winner late in the match but to be fair both teams might have claimed a winner late in the game and a draw was probably a fair result.

jack ross after morton draw

I thought we did better in the latter stages of the first half after a slow start, but then we played well in the second half. I thought Morton were the better team for the part of the first half and just before half-time, but once we adapted to their system we were much better and I think if you add it all up over the piece then a draw was probably a fairly even game, both sides had good spells in the game, but naturally when you come back from 2-0 down in a game to get something from it then that has to be a positive. We struggled a wee bit with their system early on and Scott Gallacher had to make some important saves, but that is why I signed him.

He is a good goalkeeper, I said it him when he came in he would put himself back in the shop window because he still would like full time football, because we are a smaller team in a bigger league with full time teams he was always going to be busy on occasions and tonight he produced good saves. You always want to win games but over the piece having been two goals down I am delighted the character and attitude the players showed to fight back. Both teams could argue they could have won the game. Bear in mind this is a team that still have not won at home this season and they have taken a lot of criticism throughout the course of the season so their confidence has been battered. Over the piece, I think both teams could argue that they deserved to win the game.

Morton had chances in the first half, then we had the momentum in the second, but we have to take a step back and say, the point again takes us in the right direction; it is another point forward for us. Every single point is crucial now for us. We go into every single game looking to win and it will be no different this weekend as the squad prepare for the visit of SPFL Championship leaders Rangers.

My message to players in the dressing room, is always a positive one and we always look to go and win each game and it will be no different on Saturday against Rangers. I was lucky as a player to enjoy wins over the Old Firm and sometimes when teams haven’t done it for a long time it can be a nice surprise when they do. Saturday is a brilliant game for us.

It is one the players should look to relish and enjoy being out there, but it is a game we will look to go and win. We will give our all and see where that takes us. You are not ever going to win every game even if you are the best team in the league, but if you set out to win it then you give yourself the best chance to get something.

The Wasps welcomed neighbours Falkirk as their first foots for the New Year but disappointingly the home side failed to take any points from a game which on commitment and determination they might have hoped to share the spoils, but in the end it was the Falkirk talisman, John Baird who was on hand to show the difference of having a proven goalscorer in their team. The manager will be looking at the January transfer window to try and bring in more strength and options in attack but other clubs will be looking to do the same as clubs look to strengthen for the second half of the season. Falkirk ground out a victory in a game of very few clear cut chances, Robbie Crawford came closest to scoring for “The Wasps” but in poor conditions it was not game for the football purists with Scott McKenna, making his Alloa debut on loan from Aberdeen putting on a “Man of the Match” performance

jack ross after falkirk new year derby

Today we were playing a team who are on a terrific run and are rightly been seen as promotion contenders, we matched them for long periods in the game, I don’t think the game had huge amounts of quality in it there were few chances at both ends, Andy McNeil had only one save other than the one that leads to the goal and Danny Rogers didn’t have many saves to make either but I thought the level of commitment from the players was tremendous, their desire, you could see that in the final fifteen minutes of the game was evident, so that’s encouraging and we will look to stay as positive as we can, it is difficult because the players have taken a lot of blows at the moment, but the group of players and reaction I have had from them has been first class.

First and foremost when you come in, I only have two nights a week to work with the players so it’s about trying to get them onside as positive as we can be to begin with and buy in the way I want to do things and I think they are doing that, there has been a really good reaction in the training and I try to speak to them individually which is difficult with the time you have got but I have been delighted with them and today I genuinely feel for them, people think managers want results for themselves but it doesn’t bother me, I want the players to get their rewards at times because I think the commitment they showed today we could easily have taken something from this game.

I genuinely had no qualms about playing Scott McKenna, he is somebody I have watched over the past couple of years, I had seen him play for Scotland Under 19’s and watched him in a few games since, I know that the type of player he is he could handle this fine, it took him a little while at the start of the game because he was playing against two very good strikers in Lee Miller & John Baird, they are experienced and know the game and are a handful but he adjusted really well, he tired at the end but that is natural as well it is a step up in pace to what he has playing, but delighted with him and if he produces performances like that in the games he is here he will do well.

We still have two loan options left this season, so it is a market we will continue to look at again, I think there is no an abundance of players going about, we will continue to try especially in the attacking areas, it’s evident that we don’t have a huge amount of options, I only had one fit striker today in Michael Duffy, so I have been tirelessly trying and found it difficult so far. When I came here we had only taken one point from twenty seven in nine home games so we looked at what could we do to help address that, when we were playing against full time teams with good quality they prefer the pitches with big spaces so we thought it might help us to narrow the pitch. Today it didn’t change the end result but it did keep us in the game throughout, so it’s an educated gamble, we could happily just let the season peterout or look to change, we asked the question and were told it was ok, if it works it works but we need to try things.

I think Robbie Crawford will stay with the club, Michael Duffy needs to consider his option and Michael Doyle we are hoping to stay, the good thing for these players is they are experiencing first team football every week although they still have the desire to go and make it at their parent club and we will be having conversations to see where they stand, Michael Duffy, I would love him to stay, I’ve been really pleased with him so far it’s been really difficult for him as a young player because at times he has been asked to play with little support and I don’t believe he has had his rewards because at times with a little fortune he could have scored goals, I still believe he could still score six to ten goals this season and hopefully that will be with us.

New Alloa Athletic manager Jack Ross, took charge of the team for the first time on Saturday and could be pleased with the determination and effort from his players, who created chances but on the day once again they just didn’t fall kindly – Connor McManus, Michael Duffy and Iain Flannigan, all could have been on the score sheet in the first half but St. Mirren went in 1-0 ahead thanks to on loan striker Lawrence Shankland’s lobbed effort. In the second half “The Wasps” again had a good spell before Saints scored a second totally against the run of play. In the end, not scoring and being punished at the other end is how the season has been so far. Scott Hynd came off the bench and had a great headed effort saved by Jamie Langfield when if “The Wasps” had got a goal back it might have been different. Jack Ross will try to assess the playing squad and will look to see what he can change in January transfer window, however the players are staying positive and know the league is still very tight but will want to turn chances into league points.

First and foremost all you want is to win the game, prior to the game I hadn’t thought about nothing else than to prepare the team to win, so naturally disappointed, mainly for the players because they put an awful lot into the match, but it is difficult for me to make comparisons because I haven’t seen the team play at home this season and had to be guided by Paddy for that, but he thought it was one of their better home performances and on another occasion we could have got something from it, it is obvious we haven’t scored a lot of goals this season, one of the things we spoke about before hand was be as positive as we can in the final third, you have to be prepared to make mistakes in that area, putting crosses in the box, having shots on goal to create things and I thought we did create chances today and I don’t think any of the chances were poor finishing. I think it was just not falling for us on the day and if they continue to work as hard as that and try and create in the final third I’m sure it will fall for them, certainly the message at the end of the game was not to go away from here in any way disappointed or downbeat because I thought there were a lot of positives to take from the game. People say they don’t look at other results but the position we are in of course it was good Livingston and Dumbarton drew, it’s a good result for us, despite the difficult season we have had we are still in touch and that’s important to keep that belief amongst the players as well.

It is the first time I have seen some of the players in competitive action and I am still getting to know some of them and I have limited time with them during the week but there were good things and not so good things. Next game is against Raith Rovers at Kirkcaldy and in this league they don’t get any easier, I went to the Morton v. Raith Rovers game last night as we will be playing Morton in the not too distant future as well and they are all good sides but I hope our players will have taken belief from today’s game the message certainly was that, it wasn’t that St. Mirren won 2-0 and the game was hugely comfortable for St. Mirren, they had to earn that victory today.

The two players who scored the goals in Lawrence Shankland and Calum Gallagher have good pedigrees and the first goal, which is always hugely important in this division was a really good finish, I think if Shankland took a touch Michael Doyle probably gets in to make a tackle but he made the decision to take it first time and it was a good finish. January, will give us the opportunity within that period to do something, we will have to try and shuffle things around but it’s like everything there is not an abundance of players, I wouldn’t just change for the sake of change it would have to improve or squad, however we don’t have a huge amount of options in certain areas of the squad which looks imbalanced and I would like to address that.

It is worrying that Jason Marr had to come off with what looked like a muscular injury, he is just back fit but Jason does well for us and he comes from a good pedigree so we will need to assess him over next couple of days and at a club where resources are less than others we just need to deal with it and move on.