SEVEN young Wasps are to be handed the chance to make their first-team breakthrough after signing professional contracts for the coming season.

Andy Wilson, Ryan Hoggan, Adam Martin, Declan McDonald, John Cunningham, Mark Greene and Dylan Monaghan have all penned deals with the club and will be involved in Jim Goodwin's squad.

Several of the group have already had a taste of first-team action.

Wilson impressed on his top team debut, deputising in goal for the injured Neil Parry, while Martin netted his first senior goal on the final day of last season against Peterhead.

The pair, along with Cunningham, have represented Scotland at the schoolboy level, while McDonald is the only Alloa player to represent Scotland at age-group level to date.

Cunningham netted 27 times for the Wasps' Development Squad last season, while player of the year Greene was directly involved in 54 goals, getting on the scoresheet 16 times and providing 38 assists.

Graeme Liveston, Alloa's head of youth development, says the group's inclusion in the first-team squad marks a huge step in the right direction for the club.

He told Advertiser Sport: "It's a huge positive for the club. For clubs like Alloa, bringing young players through the system is the way forward.

"We are now starting to get the rewards for the hard work we have put in over the past three or four years.

"A few of the boys have already had a taste of playing in the first team. Adam has already scored his first senior goal and Andy did very well on his debut at Albion Rovers.

"Being involved with the first team can only be a good thing for the players. They have already had a taste of that as the youngest team in the development league by a distance, playing against four or five seasoned pros every week.

"The boys have already been in for pre-season training and I'm very pleased with how they have managed to hold their own with the first team so far."