CALLUM CRANE reckons it was vital for Alloa to get back to winning ways as they ended their three-match winless run at Albion Rovers last Saturday.

The left-back impressed once again as the Wasps picked up a valuable 3-1 victory over the struggling Cliftonhill side.

After two draws and a defeat in their last three games threatened to derail their playoff ambitions, the Alloa squad were relieved to have come out on top.

Crane told Advertiser Sport: “After the last three results, the most important thing was to get the job done.

"It probably wasn’t the best game of football to watch, but we got the job done and picked up the three points.

“It doesn’t really matter how you do it, especially at places like Albion Rovers where the pitch is a bit more difficult to play on. We are just happy with the points.”

The Wasps climbed to third after a combination of their victory and defeats for Arbroath and East Fife, and with the Lichties set to take on Albion Rovers as the Advertiser went to print, Crane insisted he would rather have the points in the bag already.

He said: “The teams around us lost which could be helpful. Arbroath still have to play Albion Rovers, and if they win that they will go back above us, but anything can happen on that pitch.

"I’d definitely rather have the points on the board than have to go there on a Tuesday night needing a win.”

The left-back will play his part once again as Alloa and Arbroath go head-to-head in a key showdown ahead of the playoffs, and he says he will be surprised if there is a repeat of last month’s high-scoring encounter between the sides.

Crane added: “It feels like we are playing Arbroath all the time at the minute! I can’t see it being another 5-3.

"I think they’ll have learned their lessons from last time so I’m expecting it to be a close game. But a repeat would be nice.

“We’ll certainly go into it looking to score a similar amount of goals, and hopefully we can cement our position in third.”