GOAL hero Steven Hetherington says the Alloa Athletic players will not go down from the SPFL Championship without a fight following their spirited 1-1 draw with Raith Rovers. 

The former Motherwell trainee is delighted to be playing regular first-team football and thanked manager Jack Ross for putting his faith in him, writes Jamie Hall. 

The midfielder has made himself a key figure in the Wasps’ starting lineup in recent weeks as they battle against relegation from the Championship, and he insists they are determined to keep fighting until the very end.

Hetherington told Advertiser Sport: “"The gaffer has said that if we are going down we will have to get dragged down. As long as it is mathematically possible we can stay up so we will keep fighting. 

"I spoke to Jack when he first came in and he told me where I sat within the team and moving forward. I have come into training and games and given everything. I would like to pay the manager back.

"I feel like I have deserved to keep my place in recent weeks and I am wanting to kick on from here. On the day you want to play well and I think I have done that, but it is a team game and it is the team’s performance that matters at the end of the day.

“We suffered a tough loss at Dumbarton, but when we came in on Thursday the manager just told us to forget about it because the next game is always more important. The dressing room is a good place to be even though we are down at the bottom because we are all in it together."

The 23-year-old admitted he was gutted after Raith Rovers struck late to deny his side a first home win of the season, but despite another setback he reckons the Wasps still have the belief that they can get the victories they need in their fight against the drop. 

He said: “It makes you feel a bit sick when you put so much effort into a game. It is a sore one to take. It would have been massive to get that first home win. When we went one nil up it wasn’t as if we nicked it against the run of play.

"I thought we deserved to be in the lead. We created more clear-cut chances and we could have gone on to score a second and a third. The belief is still there to go and win games but that is football sometimes. It is cruel.

“We did not drop deep straight away. We were still looking to win the game and the second goal could have come. Michael Duffy had a chance and then the ball wouldn’t drop for Kyle McAusland.

"That could have been it but the game goes on and you start dropping that extra yard. You don’t want to do that but you have to defend the goal.”

Hetherington looked as if he had set Alloa on their way with a second-half strike, and he revealed afterwards that the goal was his first as a professional footballer.

He added: “I had never scored a senior goal before so it was a delight to get it, as everyone could probably tell by my reaction! I should have scored in the game against Hibs so it’s a great feeling, which I have not felt before in senior football.

"It is a great feeling, but I was brought back down to earth when we conceded late on.”