JASON Marr admitted that Alloa were always up against it as their League One title hopes were finally dashed last Saturday.

Livingston were crowned champions thanks to a 2-1 victory over the Wasps, and Marr says it was always going to be a big ask for his side to keep the title race going.

But the defender reckons it could have been a different story if two early chances had not come back off the woodwork.

Marr told Advertiser Sport: “The boys worked hard but Livingston is a very difficult place to go at the best of times, and when they are full of confidence and have the chance to wrap up the title in front of their own fans it makes it that much harder.

"We started really well, and if we take our chances in the first few minutes it’s a completely different story.

“Goals change games, and Scott Pittman has scored an absolute screamer for them. We tried to get going again after it but to be honest they were the better team on the day.

“We hit the post twice in the first five minutes and if those chances had gone in the game would have been turned on its head. But it all comes down to fine margins.”

Marr hinted that the Wasps’ squad are frustrated to have not pushed Livingston harder for the title, admitting that their failure to finish teams off has cost them.

He said: “People will say how well we have done to push them this far because they are a full-time team, but we know they are not any better than us. It is the simple things they have done which have got them to where they are now.

"They have picked up wins and ground them out when they have had to, while we’ve lacked a bit of killer instinct at times. They fully deserve to win the title.”

“The draws have been killing us this season.

"We have just come off the back of 10 games unbeaten and although that is a great run, we haven’t been finishing teams off and that’s what has let us down.”

Despite the disappointment of failing to secure automatic promotion, Marr insists that Alloa will go into their final four games of the season with confidence, and emphasised the importance of momentum ahead of the promotion playoffs.

He added: “We still feel like we are in good form.

"We have some big games between now and the end of the season so we have to make sure we are ready for those. Our first priority is to make sure we secure our playoff place, and then if we can go into the playoffs on a good run then we will see where it takes us.”