JON Robertson is hoping he has put himself back in contention for a regular starting berth after helping Alloa to a hard-fought victory over Airdrie.

The ex-Stenhousemuir man featured in the starting 11 for the first time since February, and with manager Jim Goodwin shuffling his pack ahead of the playoffs, he is hoping he can take advantage and nail down a regular spot.

Robertson told Advertiser Sport: “I was in the team for the majority of the season until I picked up an injury in training, and that has meant I have been lacking a bit of game time over the last month or so, so it was nice to get a start.

"From a personal point of view, Saturday was about trying to keep myself in the frame and give the manager something to think about ahead of the rest of the season.

“The gaffer has a funny job now in that he has to keep everybody fresh, but also make sure everyone is involved and active while maintaining the momentum going into the playoffs.

"One of the luxuries we have is that we have a good enough squad to enable us to rest people who need to be rested. We are fortunate that we have such good quality throughout the squad.”

Robertson admitted that the Wasps had to be resilient as they ground out a victory at Airdrie, and revealed that they had given Goodwin exactly what he had asked for before the game.

He said: “We had to show a different side to our game. Against Brechin we were playing at home so we were more expansive and open, whereas on Saturday we had to be more resilient.

"We had to show that we can be dogged and that we can defend. The gaffer actually said to us before the game that it had been too long since our last clean sheet and that he would love a 1-0 win.

"I thought we executed the gameplan to perfection.”

Alloa’s final home game of the regular season comes on Saturday against Stranraer, and Robertson says he would like a repeat of the last meeting between the sides, when he scored a stunning winner to complete an unlikely comeback.

He added: “It would be nice to repeat that goal! We are back on our home patch and you want to finish the regular season with a home win.

"The last time we played Stranraer, it was a really difficult afternoon, and if we are being completely honest the better team lost on the day.

"We will be looking to put in a better performance than we did in January, and if I happen to get on the scoresheet again, all the better.”