Alloa skipper Ben Gordon reckons their upcoming friendly with English League Two side Northampton Town is exactly the test his side needs as they step up their preparations for the new season.

The newly appointed club captain was happy enough with the Wasps unbeaten run at the Oban Tournament last weekend and believes the workout will stand them in good stead for some of the tests ahead this coming season.

Despite his side only missing out on lifting the trophy on goal difference, the big defender admits he would prefer to keep their luck for the start of the competitive action.

Gordon told Advertiser sport, “Oban was a brilliant workout for all the lads and it has definitely helped us get some of our match sharpness back. Although the results aren’t really important at this stage, but to get four decent results in the tournament and come away undefeated is obviously pleasing for us. It was a good confidence booster for us to match Hamilton who fielded a strong team. We know they have maybe one or two still to come back but we have too and it is always good to play against quality teams in pre-season and really test ourselves. I think we did that and showed up well. I was close in the end to some silverware and I guess missing out on goal difference was tough when we had played so well but we will hopefully save our luck for the real action.

“Northampton is another great challenge for us and it’s great to test ourselves against quality English opposition. It is great for the club to host them at Recreation Park and so hopefully we can give a good account of ourselves, put on a decent performance and get a good result. We played Oxford last year and I think we caught them out a little bit with our passing style and hopefully we can do the same to Northampton this time around. English teams tend to be a lot more physical in their style so it will be a good test for us but we will look to play the right way and see what we can do.” Gordon has been impressed by the quality of the players that boss Barry Smith has brought to the club so far this summer and he has urged the fans to be patient while the gaffer scours the country for the right players that will further enhance the quality of their squad.

He said, “The manager has maintained the majority of the boys that have been key to the recent success and he is now looking to add more quality to that so that can only be a good thing for the team and the club as a whole.

“I don’t think it makes any sense just to add numbers for the sake of filling the squad. He is looking for the right type of player who will enhance what we already have here and that’s vitally important for us. You can see that from the level of players he has already brought in this summer. If that happens then we will go into the season with confidence.” The 28-year-old defender admits the squad took some time to adjust after the departure of Paul Hartley midway through last season but insists the whole team are fully behind Barry Smith and believe in his style of football.

Gordon added, “It was difficult when the gaffer first came in with us having worked with Paul Hartley for three years - that was all we knew - but now with six months and a pre-season with the gaffer under our belt we have settled a lot better and adjusted to his way of doing things so we will take that into the season now and see where that takes us.”