MATCH-WINNER Jason Marr reckons his goal in the 1-0 win at Brechin City last weekend may be the most important strike of his career to date.

The Alloa Athletic hero's 68th minute header was enough to claim all three points in the top of the table clash and send them back to poll position and he reckons it was a stern reminder to their rivals that they are still very much in the promotion race.

The club vice-captain scored a vital winner earlier in the season during the Betfred Cup triumph over Inverness, but he is adamant that his latest strike is by far the most important.

Marr told Advertiser sport: "The Inverness goal earlier in the season was nice, but I think in terms of importance, this one was by far the most valuable for us. The goal against Inverness was almost a slide tackle into the net where as this one had a bit more finesse about it. I think in the grand scheme of the season, these three points may prove invaluable to us.

"Psychology as well, for us to get back to the top of the league again to end the first quarter is massive. People can say what they want when they wrote us off after the Livingston and Airdrie defeats, but we always knew how good we were and so I think this result sends out the message that we are still very much title contenders.

"It was a huge win for us at what a really difficult venue to come to, and I was obviously delighted to score the winner. We knew exactly what to expect when we went there having played them so often in the past few seasons. They always fight right to the end, and they had a real go towards the end of the game last weekend, but a combination of some terrific saves by Neil Parry and boys throwing their bodies on the line for blocks helped us secure the points."

Marr revealed that the whole squad at the Indodrill Stadium was lifted by the appointment of team mate Jim Goodwin to the manager's berth and says it has been a seamless transition that could benefit going forward.

He said: "We were all gutted to see Jack Ross leave the club, but we are still the same team and with Jim Goodwin now in charge, nothing has really changed. Jim was already here and saw the success we have had first hand, so he won't want to change too much. Obviously, he will want to put his own stamp on certain things, but he told us there won't be any drastic changes. We are 100 percent behind Jim as the gaffer now.

"When he came to the club as a player, we already had massive respect for him when he arrived here as a player for the level he has been at, so for him now to step up to the manager's seat, we are all delighted for him. He has a reputation of the type of player he is on the park, but he is an absolute gentleman off it. He is very vocal in the dressing room with the players. Even as a player, he would take boys aside and try to help them improve when it was needed so I think he is already a natural leader."

The Wasps now head into another crunch game with promotion rivals Livingston, and the 27-year-old defender hopes they can avenge the 3-1 defeat earlier in the campaign.

Marr added: "The last clash with Livingston was such a tough defeat for us to take because we more than matched them in the game and didn't play that badly, but they got the rub of the green that day with a couple of their goals and I think the scoreline flattered them. We are determined to go and put that right this time and show that we are a better team. We know Liam Buchanan very well and it is always important to try to keep a player of his quality quiet."