DEFENDER Mikk Reintam was left disappointed with his Alloa side's defeat to Hibernian on Saturday but believes they showed some promising signs.

A Jason Cummings strike was all that separated the title challengers from the relegation strugglers and the big defender says they put in a much better showing than in their previous outing when they lost heavily at Falkirk.

He put in a star turn in the heart of the Wasps' defence as they kept the Hibees at bay for long periods, despite skipper Dougie Hill being sent off, and the Estonian thinks there were plenty of positives despite falling to their fifth defeat in as many games.

He insisted that the Wasps squad will not give up the fight against relegation despite lying six points adrift at the foot of the Championship table and will keep giving their all every week as they battle to avoid the drop.

Reintam told Advertiser Sport: “We did ok compared to last week. We did not concede many chances and we did quite well but we didn't get the result we wanted so we are disappointed. They were difficult to break down, but we were good on the counter-attack and we had some really good spells of keeping the ball. I think there are a lot of positive things to take from the game.

“We came out fighting and were much more aggressive. We made them work for the three points. More often than not we go out there and put in a really good effort but we don't get the results we want. It does affect your head a bit but we are keeping our chins up and fighting on.”

The Estonia international, who has 11 caps for his country, arrived in the summer having starred in Czech football last season and admitted he took some time to adapt to the very different style of play in the second tier in Scotland.

However, now he says he is getting used to the blood-and-thunder nature of the Scottish Championship and the big defender hopes he can keep on learning and improving under the stewardship of Danny Lennon and Paddy Connolly.

He said: “The game here is much more physical than what I was used to before and the referees allow you to play that way so has taken some time to get used to it but I'm learning every week and I try to pick up as much as possible. I think I'm getting better and better.”

The 25-year-old says the Wasps' turnaround can start with their double-header against Dumbarton, with a trip to the Rock awaiting Alloa this weekend in the Scottish Cup before the Sons travel to the Wee County on Championship duty seven days later.

Dumbarton are just one place above Alloa in the table and the former MTK star believes they have a great chance to revive their fortunes over the next couple of games with progress in the cup and a vital result in their battle against the drop into League One.

Reintam added: “We have had problems with injuries and suspensions and that doesn't make it easy for the back four to settle. But we will keep fighting and hopefully next week we will get the win we deserve. It's good to be able to play Dumbarton and both are really important games. A good result in the cup game can really help us in the league.”