Alloa Athletic have some thing to celebrate after landing a Ladbrokes League One August awards double. Manager Jack Ross has been voted Manager of the Month and Jordan Kirkpatrick has picked up the Player of the Month prize. The Wasps beat Peterhead (4-0), Stranraer (5-2), East Fife (2-1) and Albion Rovers (4-0) in League One and racked up a club record 10 straight wins in three competitions this season before losing to Livingston at the weekend. Not too shabby a start to the season.
Ross said: "There's an ambition within our group and you can't have that without accepting the expectancy around it. There's got to be a pressure on yourself to reach your standards. It's the first award of this type for me and you must take pride in any individual award. Sometimes, especially in this country, you play things down and say you're not really that bothered but it's a great feeling for me and a reflection of what everyone is doing. It's a really good club to work for - I've got a great relationship with the chairman and there are people around the club, from training days to match days, who give up their time for nothing and are a tremendous help. The backroom staff I inherited, and the ones I added, are all very good characters. They are aligned with how I try to approach things. They have to put up with my slightly OCD nature at times as well"
For his part Kirkpatrick said: "To be honest, I’d have to say it’s been down to the rest of the team, and definitely the manager. Obviously I wouldn’t be getting the chances if the boys weren’t creating them for me, so massive compliments to them for creating and giving me the chance to get these goals. The gaffer has helped a lot – not just with me – in terms of confidence and expressing ourselves. He’s helped me enjoy playing again. A lot of the boys in the team probably haven’t enjoyed it as much over the last couple of seasons as they have this season under the gaffer. He is very good one-to-one with you and knows a lot about the game. From what I witnessed at Dumbarton, he helped a lot of the boys there. He’s came here and we all saw a turn-around from Alloa last year, even though they were at the stage where they were facing relegation, they still managed to become a bit more stable and consistent. It just shows you that he can definitely go very far in the game if he just keeps doing what he’s doing. He’s always involved with the boys at training and he’s always getting involved in the banter, so he’s good that way. But if there’s wee spells where he can get a chance to pull you aside and have a wee one-to-one then he’ll give you some tips on things you’ve done and the weekend and where you can improve. He’s all about trying to progress the boys. He’s not about keeping them where they are, he’s trying to get them to go as far as they can, which we all notice and appreciate."
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