ALLOA manager Jack Ross has urged his players to make the Indodrill Stadium a fortress next season after their 3-0 win over Highland League outfit Fort William got their pre-season off to a winning start.

The Clackmannanshire outfit marked their first match on their newly laid artificial surface with a comprehensive victory thanks to goals from Iain Flannigan, Isaac Layne and new boy Andy Graham, and now the Wasps boss is hopeful they can use the pitch to their advantage in the coming season ahead.

Ross told Advertiser sport: “The mood is really positive at the club now and the players have been terrific with the way they have gone about their training and their conditioning has been terrific as well. You could also see what a difference the new surface makes to us because it changes the entire way we approach the game now. The pitch is back to its normal size for this season and so we have to look to take advantage of the both the quality of the surface and the size of the pitch in our home games.

“If we can use it to our advantage then we will make it a difficult place for teams to come so that has to be our aim. I am delighted with my squad and I am really pleased with the quality I have managed to get in. You can see the strength of us even without the likes of Graeme Holmes, Jason Marr and Jordan Kirkpatrick. It is still very early, but I couldn't be happier with where we are in terms of strong competition for places.

“We trained in the morning of the game as well and to be fair we were a little short on numbers. We had a couple still on holiday and then Jordan Kirkpatrick picked up a knocked in training so that changed the plans slightly in terms of game time. I thought the players were excellent in the game, they could have scored a good few more goals and there was a lot of positive signs for us. We missed a lot of chances in the game as well, but you also have to credit their keeper with a good game as well.”

Ross is delighted with the attacking options available to him this term after gaining a squad from the Danny Lennon era that was somewhat lacking in this department and admits he has pleasantly surprised by the way his players are already starting to bond in the final third.

He said: “The attacking areas now look great for us. It was something I was keen to address from last season because we didn't have that many attacking options in the squad I inherited. This season with the players that we have brought in I have been really pleased with. I knew a few of them before hand, but I have been even more impressed now I have worked with them. I have always known Greig Spence as a really good goalscorer for example, but I think he has proven himself as a really good footballer first and foremost.

“I think Jamie Longworth is player who requires some belief and confidence placed in him and when he gets that he can produce the type of performance we saw last weekend. His finishing was perhaps not quite there yet, but some of his overall play was absolutely terrific. Isaac Layne has come back looking really sharp from the break and I think that is a credit to him because he has clearly been motivated by the challenge of the players who have come in. When you add to that the likes of Kevin Cawley, Iain Flannigan and Jordan Kirkpatrick as well we now have this abdundance of creativity in the final third.”

The Wasps face an altogether different challenge this week as they step up their pre-season campaign with firendlies against Scottish Championship new boys Dunfermline on Wednesday followed by a game against ex-manager Paul Hartley's Dundee on Friday.

The current gaffer is hoping these games will provide the right step up in difficulty that will match where his squad are in terms of fitness for the new season.

Ross added: “The Dunfermline and Dundee games present us with a step up in levels and we tried to plan pre-season like that. The Fort William game was more about winning and getting our fitness levels up in a match situation and we got a lot from it in an attacking sense. Wednesday will be a very competitive one for us between two sides who have only just missed each other in the league. I expect it will be the ideal test for us at the right time.

“Friday following that we get the chance to test ourselves against Premiership opposition albeit that they will be in the very early stages of their own pre-season so we are looking forward to both games.”