ALLOA new boy Ross Stewart says he had no hesitation in accepting a loan switch to the Wasps after almost joining the club at the end of last season.

The young striker made the move to St Mirren from Albion Rovers in the summer, but had grown frustrated with his lack of starts. He has now joined the Wee County side for the rest of the season.

The 21-year-old revealed that former Alloa manager Jack Ross, now in the hotseat at St Mirren Park, sold the Wasps to him and left him in no doubt that it was the right move to make.

Stewart told Advertiser Sport: “It’s been a bit of a frustrating spell at St Mirren and having spoken to Jack, we felt it was the right time for me to come out on loan.

"I had already spoken to Jim [Goodwin] about potentially coming to Alloa last summer so when I heard he was interested in bringing me here on loan it was a really easy decision to make.

“The boys that are starting at St Mirren have done really well and have got them up at the top of the league at the minute so you can’t really complain when they’re doing the business. But I was struggling for game time at my age you need to be playing so it was probably the right time to look elsewhere.

“Jack really sold Alloa to me. He told me that it’s a really good set up and that I’ll really enjoy it here. Nobody had a bad word to say about the club and that always helps when it comes to making your decision.”

Stewart found the back of the net 12 times for Rovers last season, including one strike against Alloa in a 1-1 draw at Cliftonhill, and he is bursting to return to the kind of form which saw him headhunted by full-time clubs.

He is set to be involved as the Wasps take on Stranraer on Saturday, and the frontman is desperate to make an immediate impact.

He said: “I’m looking to get back to the level of form I showed with Albion last season. Hopefully I can get a couple of goals early on and settle myself quickly. I’m really looking forward to a successful spell here.

“As a striker you’re always looking to score goals because that’s what you’re judged on. But I’ll come in, work hard and try to do my bit for the team, and hopefully I can be successful.

“It looks like I’ll be included in the squad against Stranraer so hopefully I can start getting game time under my belt. With any luck I’ll be able to get a goal and help us to an important win as well.”

The striker arrives with Alloa lying fourth in League One, and he is confident the Wasps can consolidate their position in the playoff places and mount a promotion push.

Stewart added: “Ayr are flying at the minute but we are in the mix as well, so it’s important that we maintain our playoff position.

"The playoffs have to be the aim at the minute. If we put together a run of results then we can maybe reassess in a few weeks’ time but at the minute, the playoffs are what we’re looking at.”

Alloa manager Jim Goodwin was delighted after adding Stewart to his squad and says he can make a crucial impact in the second half of the season.

He added: "Ross gives us a different dimension. People will look at his height and assume he's a target man but he's a much better footballer than that. He doesn't have to play as a striker; he can play in any one of the front four positions so that gives us a great option.

"He did well against good defenders when he scored against us last season and he is a handful. He's a good player and we are hoping we can get him firing on all cylinders as soon as possible."