ALLOA boss Jack Ross has told his players to forget about the first half of the season as they prepare for a festive Boxing Day showdown with Raith Rovers at Stark’s Park. 

The former Hearts U20s coach took a lot of positives in defeat to St Mirren last weekend in his first game in charge and hopes that things are now beginning to settle down after his whirlwind introduction at the club. 

The Wasps face a difficult test against Ray McKinnon’s high flying side, but is a challenge the manager is looking forward to. 

Ross told Advertiser sport: “I feel a lot more comfortable now with the guys and hopefully they feel the same with me. We only really got the Thursday session before the St Mirren game so that can only be beneficial for us. The was more positives than negatives to take from the game last weekend and the squad has trained really well again this week. It is now just about keeping them in a positive frame of mind because the first half of the season is gone now so there is no point in reflecting on that all the time. We have to go into every game believing we can take some from it and hopefully that is the message the players are taking on board. 

“Raith Rovers are a club that fall into that bracket of clubs in the Championship who are a big name and were in the top division not all that long ago. If there was to be league reconstruction they would certainly be one of the teams who would be expecting to be in that top division and so that makes it a challenging match for us. A lot of teams find it difficult going to Kirkcaldy and I know a lot of their players who are full of experience of this league so we know what we will be up against. While it is a difficult test, i still expect the players to go there with the belief that they can compete and win the game. If we have that mentality to start with then for me it gives a good platform from which more often than not we will get at least something from the game.”

Ross is sweating over the fitness of key players Michael Chopra and Jason Marr ahead of the trip to Kirkcaldy on Boxing Day, but he hopes the rest of the squad will use their potential absence as a chance to stake their claim.  

He said: “Although we have a reasonable squad in terms of numbers, you then have to look at the ones who have pedigree and experience and you wouldn’t want to have too many of them missing. Chops and Jason would certainly come into that category and if they do make it in time then it would certainly be helpful to us. If they don’t make the game then it provides an opportunity to others in the squad to come in and impress me. Sometimes in this scenario with a new manager a player can come from nowhere from thinking they weren’t in the plans and play a big role for the club between now and the end of the season. I have to hope that will be the case.”

The 39-year-old gaffer admits he is preparing for a busy January as he looks to make his own mark on the squad, but revealed how he will likely need to have players going in and out of the club this month. 

Ross added: “I have already spoken to a number of people and we are looking to try and freshen things up. That will help me to put across my own thoughts and make my stamp on the team, but we have a reasonable size squad in terms of numbers and so we will likely have to see movement both ways. We are looking to do business within the month like a lot of other clubs, but whether that is sooner or later we will have to wait and see what happens. We are working hard on it though, and we are hopeful of maybe adding one over the next week or so, but we will look to get the best from the players we have in the meantime.”