DEVASTATED Wasps midfielder Steven Hetherington says players owe it to the fans to fight on till the very end after defeat to Dumbarton left them on brink of relegation at foot of SPFL Championship. 

Alloa remain 11 points adrift with eight games remaining and the 23-year-old reckons the pattern of the 3-1 loss at Dumbarton was an all too familiar story for them as they left empty handed despite putting everything into the game. 

The talented midfield ace put in a man-of-the-match display for his side, but admits it will now be a massive test for the players to lift themselves in the remainder of the season. 

Hetherington told Advertiser sport: “I feel like we have played well once again, but somehow not came away with any reward for our efforts. The problem for us is that has been the case for most of the season so we can't keep saying that every week. It is just so hard to take for us at the moment.

"Not only are we getting beat, but its the fact that we are putting so much into games, but still losing. It's not like we are getting hammered every week so it's very frustrating for us. It's not good enough anymore and we have to win games now.

"We started well and contributed a lot to the game. It was a real blow to go behind early on, but then I thought we rallied well. Unfortunately, we have conceded some soft goals once again and it has left us with too much to do. 

“We were all flat after the game because there just doesn't seem to be any sign of us catching a break this season, but there is not one person in the dressing room who is ready to throw in the towel. We have to try to remain upbeat now because we know it will be a real test of character from now until the end of the season, but we have no other option than to battle on. We know we are up against it now, but we won't give up until the very end.”

Hetherington and his team mates must now dust themselves down quickly from the disappointment of Tuesday night as they prepare for the visit of Raith Rovers this weekend, and he says it is time for them to end their home hoodoo that has seen them go without victory at the Indodrill Stadium since the playoff triumph over Forfar Athletic last May. 

He said: “We just have to focus on each individual game because there is no point in looking further ahead than the Raith game now. We need to win that one, get the three points and then see where the next one takes us.

"We can't go a whole season without winning a home game, that is just unacceptable. It is probably the reason we are in the situation that we are, but now the Raith game is a chance to put that record right. 

“We have had a few close games with Raith this season so far and we obviously beat them at their place last time we met. Stark's Park has been a tough place to go for teams this season so we can take heart from that win and try to apply the form of that into the home game on Saturday. We have to go into the game believing we can win it, otherwise there is no point in turning up.”         

The former Motherwell trainee says the most disappointing part of the season is to have let the faithful Alloa fans down, but he is still hopeful the squad can give them something to shout about in the final weeks of the campaign. 

Hetherington added: “The players are all hurting so I can only imagine how the fans are feeling. They have backed us all season and have paid their money to come and see us all over the country so we feel a debt to them and it's time we started paying them back for that.”