Alloa midfield ace Ryan McCord says he had no hesitations about resigning with the club this summer and is now focusing on helping the Wasps cause a few upsets in the SPFL Championship this season.

The talented playmaker believes the underdogs tag will help them defy the odds again this year because they have done it for the past few seasons.

The former Dundee United trainee says the whole squad are excited to go and test themselves in what most people expect to be one of the most competitive leagues in the country.

McCord told Advertiser Sport, “This season is going to be such a good test for us but it is one we are excited to take on. It will be a bigger achievement to stay up this year than it was last year so that has to be our aim. It will be great to test ourselves against some of the bigger teams who won’t fancy playing on our pitch so hopefully we can use that to our advantage and cause a few upsets. I have played at most of the grounds with the United reserves but it will be great to see them full. We won’t be expected to win many games in this league next year but that is better for us and we can go and play with no pressure. We are used to being the underdogs, we have had it for three seasons now, but we just keep on defying peoples expectations and hopefully we can do it again this year. I had a few other offers on the table in the summer but I have enjoyed my time here for the past three seasons and I have a college course to complete this year so Alloa was the best fit for me again this season. The league will be exciting to be involved in and I am playing every week here so I wasn’t going to move somewhere to sit on the bench. I enjoy it here at Alloa, we are a close-knit bunch who know our jobs and we work well together as a team so hopefully that keeps us in good stead for the season.” The 25-year-old Wasps star has been impressed by the new additions at Recreation Park and reckons they must have good depth in the squad if they want to survive in the Championship for a second successive season.

McCord said, “The manager knows we need a bigger squad this season if we want to stay up this year and the additions he has made so far have been very good. It was great to see Spence get some minutes out there and he looks good and will only get sharper. With Mark Docherty it is like he has never been away, he is a great utility player for the squad and he is a great guy to have in the dressing room. I played at Dundee United with John Gibson so I know he is a good goalkeeper and it is great to get a natural winger in David Weatherston in because he will give us some real pace from the wide areas. Competition in the squad will give us the best chance of staying up again and that has to be our aim.” McCord was happy to get minutes under his belt in the 2-1 win over East Stirling as the Wasps get set for thier first competitive game against Arbroath at the end of the month.

He added, “It was great to get back to action and to get 45 minutes under my belt. I thought we did a lot better second half after a slow start first half. It was a typically slow-paced pre-season game but everything now is gearing towards our first competitive game against Arbroath now. That game will be a tough test for us but it is a good surface to play on and so it should be a good game.”