ONE was playing his 150th game for Alloa on Saturday while the other is yet to reach double figures for the club.

But, the signs are already there that Andy Graham's influence on Robbie Deas is beginning to pay off for the young Celtic loanee.

Deas bounced back after a disappointing display in the Wasps' loss to Ayr United by putting in a man-of-the-match performance as Alloa stood tall to claim a point in Fife.

He is the latest young talent to learn his trade under Graham's watchful eye – following in the footsteps of Sam Roscoe – and Deas believes the veteran's influence is just what he needs to take the next steps in his own career.

"Andy is superb," Deas told Advertiser Sport. "He talks to me all the time.

"Before the game and after the game about what I did well and what I need to work on.

"Andy is great with me and I really enjoy playing with him. He's a joy to watch when he's on the ball.

"Last season it was a wee bit similar at Cowdenbeath with the schedule during the week [balancing Alloa and the Celtic Reserves], but this is obviously a better standard.

"I am loving coming in on Tuesday and Thursday nights. The gaffer is great with me and he speaks to me every night. He always wants to better me as a player and the boys are great.

"I love learning from them and there's no reason why we can't do well in this league."

Deas, 19, was on the receiving end of a couple of rockets from the Pars forwards as he put his body on the line for the Wee County cause at East End Park.

He said: "My body is a wee sore, but it is what you have to do as a defender.

"You need to defend with your life and Andy, Taggs [Scott Taggart], Dicko [Liam Dick], they all show that every single week.

"Not just the defenders but you see Flanny [Iain Flannigan] going into things and it shows you what we are capable of and we want to win."

An Adam Brown strike into the top corner threatened to secure all three but in the end Alloa had to settle for a point after Kyle Turner's equaliser.

And Deas says the performance was the perfect response to the Wasps' humbling at home to Ayr United.

He said: "It was just a bit night and day from last week. I couldn't wait for the game to come because it had been in the back of my head all week.

"I wanted to go out and have a game and I was delighted with my performance and we were unlucky not to get the three points.

"But at the end of the day we defended and a point away from home is not the worst result."

Deas continued: "It was very important to put in a good performance after last weekend, but I was just delighted to get back out on the pitch.

"I trained hard all week because I was worried about being dropped after the Ayr match and I feel that I had to put in a good performance.

"I was happy with how I played but there is room for improvement and I will watch the game back and there are points I can always improve on."

The Wasps host league leaders Dundee United on Friday at the Recs and Deas is convinced they should have nothing to fear when Lawrence Shankland and his support acts come calling.

"We have Dundee United on Friday and we will go and play, get the ball down and we can easily beat any team in this league," he added.