ALLOA boss Jim Goodwin says clinching their playoff place with victory over Forfar last weekend takes the pressure off his side going into their final two league games.

An 18-goal swing is required for the Wasps to be caught, and Goodwin declared himself satisfied that his side’s place is secure.

However, the manager praised challengers Stranraer for pushing his squad so far.

Goodwin told Advertiser Sport: “Mathematically Stranraer can still catch us but we’re pretty confident that the 18-goal advantage will be enough to guarantee the playoff place. It’s a weight off our minds but we were confident of getting the job done anyway.

“Stranraer deserve a lot of credit for putting a run together at such an important stage of the season. It’s just come a little bit too late but Stevie Farrell deserves a lot of credit for turning their fortunes around considering the position they were in in January.

“From our own point of view we are delighted. Part of our remit at the start of the season was to guarantee ourselves a playoff place. We are disappointed that we fell short in challenging for automatic promotion but we are really pleased now that we’ve got the playoffs to look forward to.”

Goodwin will have to do without defender Jamie McCart, who was sent off in the closing stages of the victory over Forfar, and the manager admitted it was the correct decision.

He said: “I’m disappointed for Jamie because he’s been great for us since he came in. There was a bit of a tangle on the ground between himself and Dylan Easton. The referee was in a good position to make the decision.

“It’s a warning to everybody that we can’t afford any stupid things like that to happen and I’ll be stressing that in the next couple of weeks. With a small squad like ours we need everyone available to give us the best chance.”

Goodwin also praised predecessor Jack Ross, who clinched the Championship title with St Mirren, and says the former Wasps boss deserves huge credit for the job he’s done at Paisley 2021 Stadium.

He added: “I’m delighted for St Mirren having spent five-and-a-half years there as a player. The turnaround in Jack’s time there is nothing short of incredible and I think it’s a mark of him as a coach and a manager that he’s been able to turn it round as quickly as he has.

“He deserves all the credit and I’m delighted for him. It certainly wasn’t a difficult decision for me to nominate him as my manager of the year when the message came through from the PFA.”