RED-HOT midfield ace Jordan Kirkpatrick admits he is in the form of his life after another man-of-the-match display helped Alloa Athletic to a 3-0 over East Fife in the Irn-Bru Cup last weekend.

The Wasps star opened the scoring with his seventh strike of the campaign already and he reckons it is undoubtedly without doubt his best ever start to a season.

The in-form attacker feels like his flying form is all down to the talent of the squad around him and the encouragement of manager Jack Ross.

Kirkpatrick told Advertiser Sport: “This has been without doubt my best ever start to a campaign and the goals have just been a bonus for me. 

“It has been a brilliant start to the season for me and with us playing with Greig Spence up front, it allows me to get into attacking positions as often as I can.

“He is not happy that I am now ahead of him in the goal scoring stakes, but I think that kind of competitive spirit within the squad is healthy for us. It keeps him on his toes and pushing on in the goalscoring stakes himself, so hopefully we can both keep it going.

“It is probably the most I have ever scored in any season already, so I am desperate to keep it going and see how many I can get to. It is down to the freedom of the role and the position the gaffer likes me to get into.

“Another big factor in it is just being a part of this dressing room. There is a real feel-good factor around the place and we have so many talented players in the side that help me create so many opportunities and long may it continue.”

Kirkpatrick believes it is only going to get harder for Alloa each and every week as teams become more and more determined to end their winning run.

The Wasps hero also believes a lot of praise must be given to their defensive line for their contribution to their record-breaking run for making them so hard to beat.

He said: “I think the way we have gone about this run not only says a lot for us as a group and the football we are playing, but to get the seven clean sheets as well shows you how well Neil Parry and the back four have been playing as well.

“The confidence is running right throughout the team at the moment and we always feel well prepared from the gaffer heading into each game.

“The approach to each game is always something different and I think that has been key for us. Heading into the East Fife game we worked on playing through the gaps and working a lot quicker and sharper attacks so to be fair it came off really well for us.

“You could say that the run we are on will only get harder now the longer it goes. Each team will get that extra motivation to try to beat us and see us as a scalp now, but there is also that fear factor of playing a team in top form.

“Teams will have a doubt in their heads especially coming here to Alloa that they might lose the game, so that can only be a good thing for us.

“We just keep taking it game by game at the moment, though, and try not to get ahead of ourselves as we look to keep the run going.”

The former Dumbarton man played down the importance of this weekend’s clash with title rivals Livingston, but he does admit that victory in that one would be a huge three points for them.

He added: “The Livingston game is another tough one, but it is good for us to keep ticking on at the moment.

“We know what we have to do and if we can get the three points then it would send out a big message, but we won’t get too far ahead of ourselves and just prepare as normal for the game.”

Manager Jack Ross also reserved high praise for Kirkpatrick after his impressive display last Saturday, He said: “Jordan is another player who I always believed would get an opportunity to play at a higher level in the Premier League. 

“I spoke to a number of people I knew at that level but for one reason or another it never materialised, and I know from working closely with him, how good he is. He just needs people to believe in him.

“His goal scoring return for a midfielder is incredible this season and I am delighted with him.

“I am looking forward to the next round and delighted it will again be played on a Saturday which makes a big difference. It allows us to approach the fixture as a normal game. 

“If it had been a midweek game, then I would have had a different approach in terms of personnel because we would have looked at the fatigue factor.”