Alloa boss Danny Lennon refused to blast his players following the 3-1 defeat to Queen of the South in their SPFL Championship opener at Palmerston Park last weekend.

Individual errors in defence meant that the Wasps trailed 3-0 at half time, despite having the better of the play in the opening 45 minutes, but the gaffer refused to single out any one player for blame and says his men will learn from the loss.

The 46-year-old admits he is full of admiration for Queens striker Derek Lyle, who he believes is a shining example for any youngster looking to become a professional footballer, after his stellar performance helped put his side to the sword.

Lennon told Advertiser sport: “Firstly, I have to say that I deeply admire and am very proud of the players in my dressing room. We are part-time club in a full-time league and these guys go to their work everyday from nine until five or longer then they have to come and train twice a week as well.

“They give me absolutely everything they have and are as honest as the day is long. For us to then go to Queens and lose the goals that we did, was very uncharacteristic of us. The three goals were very poor ones from our point of view and at 3-0 down it looks like we are getting a doing, but we actually created more chances than them in the first half.

“I can’t take anything away from Queens overall though because they deserved their win over the piece. I have to give big plaudits to Queens and especially Derek Lyle. If there are any young boys watching the Championship and aspiring to learn the game then I suggest they watch him.

“He gives you everything, has pace, links the play well and scores goals and I thought he was excellent. He uses his intelligence against Dougie [Hill] for the first goal, and maybe it could have been a foul, but we have to be stronger in those scenarios.

“In the second half, we had a great start and brilliant reaction from all the lads. We got the goal back from Flannigan and had a lot of the ball in and around their box, but our efforts on goal fizzled out.” Lennon hopes his players will now use the pain of the QoS loss to prepare them for Sunday’s live TV showdown with title favourites Rangers at Indodrill Stadium and he reckons the magnitude of the match might just be the perfect remedy for his squad.

He said: “It is still disappointing to lose in the manner we did, but it is a learning curve for us, basic errors have cost us and we must learn quickly from those. I got a great reaction in the second half and I will ask for the same this coming week.

“We must collectively learn from the mistakes because we win and lose as a team. We will dust ourselves down and be ready to go on Sunday. The Rangers game is maybe the ideal game for us to bounce back where the concentration levels of the players have to be at their highest.

“We have been punished for our mistakes here and we know Rangers have players who can hurt us if we let them. I watched them against St Mirren and they have a lot of energy, fluidity and width, but for me it is the perfect game for us because it forces us to be at our very best.” The former St Mirren manager was delighted to welcome playoff hero Michael Chopra back to the club last week, as the veteran striker signed a one year deal at the club, and he is hopeful that condition of the Newcastle native means he can be even better this time around.

Lennon added: “It was pleasing to get Michael Chopra 45 minutes on the pitch and he will get better the more he plays. Michael brings a lot of attributes to the team with his experience and talent.

“He has some lovely feet on the ball and can bring other players into the game with his passing so we are just delighted to have him back.

“He hasn’t played a lot of football, but you can see that he has worked hard on his conditioning over the summer.

“It is pleasing to see him in such great shape because that can only benefit both him and the football club.”