New Wasps defender Andy Graham aiming for two promotions in a row from SPFL League One

The solid defender scored the winning penalty in the playoff final against Peterhead to send Ayr United into the Championship last season, only to then be released by Ian McCall a week later.

But the former Dumbarton skipper has no hard feelings and is instead fully focused on achieving the exact same thing with Alloa in the season ahead.

Graham told Advertiser sport: “I am delighted to join up at the club and just cannot wait to get started now. Obviously, I had success in this league last season with Ayr and so that has to be the target once again. Back to back promotions would of course be nice and there is no doubt that is what we will be trying to achieve. I think the league will be very competitive once again as I found out last year, but I am very much looking forward to it.

“It was obviously disappointing to leave Ayr after the high of scoring the winning penalty in the playoff final because I would've loved another crack at the Championship. The manager had some tough decisions to make though, and I can appreciate that because that's just football and I will move on. I am not the type of player to let these things get me down. I simply move on to the next challenge here at Alloa and am looking to get promoted again. The league is very competitive so that challenge will be a big one for us, but with the players we have here, there is absolutley no reason why we shouldn't be in amongst the mix.”

Graham admits he is delighted to be reunited with manager Jack Ross after playing under him at Dumbarton and says he has been impressed by the squad he has assembled in the Wee County ahead of the new campaign.

The 32-year-old was quick to acknowledge the mini-dumbarton reunion going on at the Indodrill Stadium this season, but he is also looking forward to forming a solid defensive partnership with Wasps stalwart Jason Marr.

He said: “The gaffer was a massive factor in my coming to the club. I worked with him for a good few seasons at Dumbarton and his training was always spot on. I actually played with him briefly at Hamilton for a spell earlier in my career too so we know each other well. More importantly I know the type of person he is, and that is a winner so that one was one of the main factors in coming here.

The gaffer has put together a strong pool here and I cannot lie, I was definitely convinced of the move once I had seen some of the signings Jack had made. I think the challenge for us now is to look to compete and challenge for the league.

There is a mini-Dumbarton reunion going on here at Alloa now, but I just think that is down to the gaffer signing players who he knows and trusts to do a job for him. It helps me settle in as well to have the likes of Taggart, Kirkpatrick and Cawley here. They are all good players with the right attitude for the game and I am sure we can all make the right impact in the coming season.

Jason Marr is a top class player. He actually came in on trial when I was at Dumbarton and I was very surprised they never signed him because he was very decent, but their loss was Alloa's gain and hopefully I can fight my way into the first team and form a decent partnership with him.”

As an ex-Stirling Albion player who has scored against the club on more than one occasion, the former Bino knows he has a lot to do to win over the Wasps' fans, but he is hoping he can extend his excellent winning run at the Indodrill Stadium whilst representing the home team this time around.

Graham added: “I am coming into the club with a very unique record of winning against Alloa both with Stirling and with Dumbarton. I guess it is just one of those grounds I do well at, but hopefully the fans don't hold that against me and I can bring that kind of record in their favour next season. I had a good feeling walking back out onto the pitch at the Indodrill Stadium because I normally win when playing on it so if that run continues then we will definitely be right up there challenging.”