BY IAIN COLLIN – @CCP_sport
JASON Marr has backed manager Jack Ross to lead Alloa Athletic back to the Championship after they finally succumbed to relegation at the weekend.
The Wasps required what would have been just a fourth victory of the campaign to escape the clutches of League One but could only fight out a goalless draw with second-bottom Livingston.
Ross has been unable to turn around fortunes since taking the reins in December on a deal that expires at the end of the season.
But Marr firmly believes the former Clyde, Falkirk and St Mirren defender is the man to ensure the part-timers bounce straight back up after three years in the Championship.
The former Celtic defender said: “If the club’s going to come back up, I think the gaffer’s the guy to do it.
“Since he’s come in, he’s lifted everything. The boys have got their confidence back and I thought we were playing much better.
“We were really unlucky not to get a few victories.
“Dropping down a division, the club’s going to have to rearrange the budget and stuff.
“But hopefully the chairman can give the gaffer a decent budget and we can put together a team to get us back up.”
There was a sense of inevitability about relegation, with Alloa not having won since January 12 and being a massive 13 points adrift at the bottom of the table.
Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Livingston simply removed any doubt over the possibility of an incredible escape, but was still difficult for the Wasps squad.
Marr, who won promotion with the club in 2013, added: “Every season I’ve been at the club has been a success. So, this season is hard to take.
“I joined after the club was promoted to League One and then we finished second to Queen of the South and went up through the play-offs.
“So, I’ve had the last two seasons in the Championship.
“It’s been massive for the club being able to avoid relegation the last two years.
“We’re all really gutted we couldn’t do it for a third time.”
