ALLOA new boy Dylan Mackin says he is looking forward to playing regular football after arriving on loan from Motherwell.

The striker has joined the Wasps until the end of the season, and says the move will help him become a better player.

He has made a good start to life in the Wee County, scoring on his home debut against Livingston, and revealed he has loved his time at Alloa so far.

Mackin told Advertiser Sport: “One of the main reasons I have come out on loan is to play men’s football and learn the trade. You have to learn really quickly against big, physical defenders and that can only help me going forward. Coming to Alloa is definitely a good thing for me because it will allow me to play at a good level. I have come here to play regular games, and hopefully I will go back to Motherwell a better player because of it.

“It is a really good club. There is a great group of boys here and they have made it really easy for me to settle in. I have really enjoyed coming in to train as well. Being involved at senior level is really good for me and I am loving it. There is definitely a big difference between playing in League One and playing in the development league. That is a good thing, especially because I am 20 now and in the development league you can sometimes come up against boys who are about 16 and aren’t able to compete physically. I am happy to be here and challenging myself.”

The 20-year-old netted his first goal for the Wasps with a late equaliser on his full debut in last week’s draw with league leaders Livingston, and Mackin says getting on the scoresheet topped off a good display.

He said: “There is no better feeling than scoring a goal, especially in a big game like the one against Livingston, so I am really happy with it. I thought my performance was good overall and to cap it with a goal was really nice.”

Mackin is hoping to keep his place in the starting lineup for Saturday’s trip to Hampden to face Queen’s Park, and the striker is expecting a tough test against the Spiders, who are only one point and one place behind Alloa in the League One table.

He added: “I am looking forward to being involved more, starting against Queen’s Park. We know that will be a tough game because they are playing well just now, and the Hampden pitch is a bit bigger than what we are used to, but we are looking forward to the game and will be doing everything we can to get the result.”