ALLOA ATHLETIC'S latest recruit Jamie McCart is looking forward to life in the Wee County after signing on loan from Celtic for the rest of the season.

The son of former Motherwell and Falkirk defender Chris, he has already played first-team football during loan spells with Inverness and St Mirren.

Now the centre-back is looking forward to pulling on an Alloa shirt and says his first target is to nail down a place in the Wasps’ starting lineup.

McCart told Advertiser Sport: “I’m pleased we were able to get the deal sorted out. I spoke to the manager on the phone and he was really keen for me to come here. Once I heard what he had to say I was keen to sign.

“PJ Crossan is on loan from Celtic as well and he helped sell the club to me. I spoke to him before I signed and what he had to say was all positive.

“There are some good experienced defenders at the club like Andy Graham and Frank McKeown and it will be good to work with them and learn from them.

“Hopefully I can be a leader at the back. My strengths are reading the game and playing out from the back. The first goal is obviously to earn a place in the team but once I’m in I want to lead and set the standards. I always set high standards.”

McCart goes straight into the Alloa squad to face Dundee United in the Scottish Cup on Saturday, and having trained with his new side this week, he believes they have what it takes to cause a shock.

He said: “I’m looking forward to getting started now and I’m hoping the manager decides to play me on Saturday. It will be a great game against a big team in the Scottish Cup. It would be a great game to make my debut in.

“Dundee United have had a tough run of games recently but that won’t make them any weaker. It will be a tough game but we know we are capable of causing an upset.”

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The 20-year-old is hoping his performances for the Wasps can force him into the first-team reckoning at Celtic Park, and he is also aiming to help his new team-mates achieve promotion to the Championship.

McCart added: “Personally, the main thing is to get game time and show the guys back at Celtic what I can do. For the team, promotion is the main goal for the rest of the season and hopefully I can come in and help the boys achieve that.”

Wasps manager Jim Goodwin is hopeful that McCart can have a similar impact to his other loan signings, and reckons the young defender has already settled in well.

He said: “We’re delighted to get Jamie in because it’s an area we’ve needed to strengthen for some time. We enquired about him about six weeks ago, while he was still on loan at St Mirren, and then we got a phone call a couple of days ago to say we could go ahead.

“Callum Crane, PJ Crossan and Ross Stewart have all been terrific and we’re hoping for more of the same from Jamie. He’s a great talent and it already looks like he’ll fit in well with the group.”

Meanwhile, with some key players ruled out or facing a fitness battle for this weekend, Goodwin has challenged his squad players to step up and stake a claim for a first-team place.