ALLOA Athletic boss Jack Ross has backed new signing Mitch Megginson to play an important role for his side in the remainder of the SPFL Championship.
The striker’s signing was confirmed by the club on Thursday night in a deal that saw him join on a free transfer from Raith Rovers and the gaffer is pleased to be reunited with 23-year-old as he is a player he knows well from a success stint together at Dumbarton in the 2012/13 season.
Megginson goes straight into the squad for the Wasps visit to Paisley to face St Mirren and the manager believes his latest recruit is twice the player he was in his first spell at the Wee County outfit.
Ross told Advertiser sport: “We knew we had to strengthen our attack, but it is difficult with so many teams in the league are looking for strikers. We tend to be towards the bottom in terms of where players want to come because we are part-time.
“Mitch is someone who I know very well and I have a lot of time for him as a player and a young man. If we can get him write then I know he will make a positive contribution here. I know how to get the best out of him having worked with him and so hopefully if I can do that again then he is a good player to have.
“He had a spell here on loan under Paul Hartley, but I believe he is a far better player now, he has matured and now plays in a different position. I hope he is a player who can excite the fans, he is a natural goal threat and he hopefully he can produce some special moments for us in the remainder of the season.”
Ross is still keen to further strengthen before the January transfer window closes on Monday and revealed he is only looking to add players that will enhance his playing staff, but he is also conscious of adding players who the rest of the squad will identify as top talents.
The Wasps boss has found his recruitment drive more challenging because of their precarious position at the foot of the SPFL Championship table, but he also believes it has helped him to bring in players with the right mental toughness for the battle ahead.
He said: “Players have to have a bit of character about them to come and join us because we are a part time club rooted to the bottom of a full time league, but we are fighting to get ourselves out and if we do it then it is a real achievement in itself.
“We have other areas of the pitch that we would like to strengthen and that is a continual battle for me. It is getting more difficult as the close of the window nears, but there might be some comings and going yet over the next few days.
“The way I try to recruit is that I want to bring in players who the rest of the squad recognise as being good players. That creates healthy respect and competition for places naturally. I could easily have brought in players for the sake of it and because of the situation we are in, I have been offered a lot of players.
“I wanted to give the players already here the opportunity to shine first, they have done that for me and now I will only add players who strengthen us as a group and with Scott Gallagher, Scott McKenna and now Mitch, I think I have done that.”
On-loan Aberdeen defender Scott McKenna has been a stand out in recent weeks for the manager, but he has revealed they face a nervous wait to find out if they can keep the young talent for the remainder of the campaign.
The 39-year-old admits he is in regular contact with Dons boss Derek McInnes about the situation, but the release of defender Paul Quinn means McKenna’s fate may depend on what business his parent club do in the remainder of the transfer window.
Ross added: “I speak to Derek McInnes regularly at Aberdeen about Scott McKenna. I have a very good relationship with him and we have had a conversation about extending the loan deal and while everyone involved would love him to stay here and get game time, we will have to wait and see what happens with them.
“They have lost a centre half this week in Paul Quinn so we probably won’t know about Scott until the last minute. We are desperate to keep him though and he is very highly regarded at Aberdeen as well, so it might be that their circumstances require him to stay there, but we will wait and see.”
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