ALLOA beating Cove Rangers over the weekend guarantees them a third place finish in the league, with Montrose and the Toonsers unable to overtake them.

This also means that the Wasps are about to get very familiar with Hamilton - who they face this weekend on league business and then across two legs in the playoff semi-final, set for the week commencing Sunday, May 5.

This will be a rehash of the playoff semi final from last year when Accies fought in vain for their Championship survival, rather than promotion.

A key difference in the circumstances is that, while last year Alloa were down to the bare bones in terms of their squad, they now have a near full availability to choose from.

And there was an added boost on Saturday as Stefan Scougall returned from a hamstring issue picked up against Annan to make the bench.

Speaking to Advertiser Sport after the dramatic win at Cove, Andy Graham said it was great to have a near full squad to choose from.

“Great to have Scougall back,” he said. “We’re almost back to full strength which is great.

“Over the next few weeks now, it’s all about making sure we prepare the best possible way we can for the playoffs.”

Steven Hetherington recently made a return from a three-month long injury sustained against Motherwell in the Scottish Cup, further bolstering Alloa’s ranks.

This means that they only have three players out – David Devine with a hamstring issue, Euan Deveney with an Achilles injury and Paul McLaren who is currently making his way back from an ACL tear.

While Deveney and McLaren will not feature for the remainder of this season, Devine will hopefully be able to make the playoffs.

With the two remaining fixtures against Hamilton and Falkirk now dead rubbers, Graham explained to Advertiser Sport that he will look to use these games as a chance for rotation to ensure everyone is up to speed for the playoffs.

He said: “I think it’s really important that over the next two games, we get game time into people because you never know who is going to be asked to perform in the playoffs.

“You never know who is going to be the person to step up to the plate and win the game for you.

“We’ve got a really good squad in there, a really talented squad which I think is really important.

“You never know what could happen with injuries, illness. I’ve seen it so much in my career where something throws you at the last minute.

“It’s important that everyone in there is ready to go for the playoffs and that’ll be the focus over the next couple of weeks.”