ALLOA new boy Mark Lamont said he's hoping to bring a creativeness to the Wasps as they aim to return to the Championship.

Lamont was one of six signings recently announced by the club alongside Conor Sammon, Daniel Church, Mark Durnan, Steven Boyd and Ben Armour.

The 23-year-old was on the verge of signing for Stranraer before the departure of manager Stevie Farrell halted the move, and Alloa swooped in to sign him.

Now settled in his new squad, Lamont hopes to kick on and progress under new manager Barry Ferguson.

Lamont said: "The boys are brand new, it's always one of them things when you're going into a new team – you wonder how the boys are but they've been brilliant, I think all the new signings would say that. They've welcomed us in.

"As for the sessions, they've been tough, but it's always the same at pre-season, you expect it.

"I did speak to [Craig] Howie. He signed before the gaffer got announced, he said when he spoke to big Andy Graham, it seemed like a great place to be and, to be fair, when I came in, he was right, all the boys are brand new. Howie's a good guy, obviously I know him from Clyde and it made me more interested."

Lamont is enjoying a different kind of pre-season to what he's used to and seems impressed with the quality on display.

He continued: "It's a great opportunity for me to learn from the gaffer, [with] his experience in the game, I thought it was a no-brainer for me to go and play under him and learn from him.

"It's a new pre-season for me; it's all with the ball, which I think is very important. In past pre-seasons, a lot of it is long distance running, but the quicker you get a touch the better because, let's be honest, football's played with the ball.

"I enjoy – well, I like the idea of doing a pre-season with the ball – but pre-season is never enjoyable."

Asked if he's confident the club can challenge for promotion, Lamont said: "Definitely. After the couple of training sessions, you can see there's players there that shouldn't be playing in League One.

"Their aim is the same as me, as the gaffer, we want to get Alloa back into the Championship and, hopefully, we can do it this year."

Lamont said the two things he was looking for at his next club was the aim of challenging for the title and to play good football. He's certainly found that at Alloa.

He continued: "I'm always trying to get on the ball, always trying to make things happen. I like being that player in the final third. I like getting on the ball, being ratty about players trying to win the ball back. A creativeness is hopefully what I'll bring to the team."