Alloa Athletic go into Saturday’s tie at the Tony Macaroni Arena knowing that anything other than a victory will see them consigned to League One, writes Jamie Hall.

However, manager Jack Ross says that although the players are fully aware of the game’s importance, they are hopeful of claiming the three points and keeping their survival hopes alive for at least another week.

Ross told Advertiser Sport: “We know the significance of the game in terms of what could potentially happen. I think when you have that, it gives the players the motivation to say ‘if we are going to be relegated, we want it to be outwith our control.’ It is still within our control to stay in the league. We know that if we win the game then we will still maintain a fighting chance. We don’t lack for any motivation in that regard. It is an important game but if we produce the kind of performance we have been producing in recent times and add a little bit of a cutting edge, we will have a good chance of winning the match.

“In terms of the fact that we know the consequences of not winning, it is a bigger game than others but the club has played in a lot of big matches over the course of recent seasons. You can argue cases for games like the Livingston match at home recently because we knew that if we had won that we would have narrowed the points gap. There have been other important games recently but we are in no doubt as to how important this one is.”

The former Falkirk and St Mirren defender revealed he just wants his players to be rewarded for their hard work throughout what has been a difficult campaign, and he praised the Alloa fans for sticking by his side.

Ross said: “It would be nice to have some good fortune falling our way because you do need it. Saturday would be a nice time for it to happen because as I say to the players, I am desperate for them to get their rewards for their efforts over the course of the season, and also because the supporters have been very loyal and patient over the course of the season. It would be nice to go and reward that loyalty with another victory.

“Throughout my time with the club and the difficult period that has been, the supporters have been terrific both home and away. The patience and support they have shown the club has been terrific and I would expect that to be exactly the same on Saturday. If anything adversity draws people closer together, and as long as they can see a performance on the park that reflects us being motivated and trying to win the game, they are usually fairly satisified.”

Although Alloa secured a rare victory on their last visit to West Lothian, Ross says he will take more encouragement from the performances of his players in recent weeks, and he backed them to produce a similarly positive display on Saturday.

He said: “I don’t look too much at previous results because each result has its own merits. Both teams have changed personnel significantly since that match for different reasons. I think we can take more confidence from the fact that over the past few months, we have played well on the majority of occasions. I don’t ever feel that we are going into games lacking confidence. We have just lacked the necessary cutting edge, and we have also lacked a bit of fortune. The players will be approaching the game positively, primarily because of the performances they have put in.”

The 39-year-old revealed that Burton O’Brien and Scott Hynd are the only two absentees through injury, with Colin Hamilton and Ryan Finnie expected to shake off an illness in time to feature.

Ross added: “Burton O’Brien has still got a problem with his back and Scott Hynd is still out as well. There have been one or two boys carrying a bit of illness this week like Colin Hamilton and Ryan Finnie but they should be fit for the game.”