DARIO ZANATTA admitted he can't wait to get started after joining Alloa on loan from Hearts last week.

The youngster became Jim Goodwin's twelfth summer signing when he put pen to paper on a six-month loan deal.

The tricky winger spent last season with Raith and impressed at Stark's Park, scoring seven goals for Barry Smith's side.

And having made the step up to the Championship, the Canadian international is raring to test himself at the higher level.

Zanatta told Advertiser Sport: "I am really excited and looking forward to getting started.

"This is going to be my first time playing in the Championship and I am really looking forward to the challenge – both for myself and that the club is going through.

"It's maybe not been the best start for the club, but there's a long, hard year ahead."

Having broken through at MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps, Zanatta made the switch to Hearts in 2015 after the Jambos fought off interest from the likes of Ipswich Town.

The 21-year-old has since spent time with Queen's Park and then Raith and played against the Wasps with both of those sides.

And with Alloa having struggled to find the back of the net in the Championship so far, Zanatta is sure he can be the man to do so.

He continued: "I had been speaking with my agent and Hearts to try and get somewhere sorted. My agent knows Jim Goodwin, and after speaking for a bit, it became clear both sides were interested.

"I knew that they had a smaller squad, and so I was hoping to get involved and game time is quite important.

"It might only be six months, but hopefully when that time comes we can sit down and work something out that works for both parties.

"Having played against Alloa before, I liked the way they play and 4-2-3-1 is a system I enjoy playing in.

"Most importantly, I knew one or two boys. Greig Spence and I stayed in touch and he said really good things about the club.

"I told him about the possibility and he told me more and I was so keen

"Most importantly I am looking to bring goals to the side and hope to bring something to the team by being able to play both in the middle and out wide."

When asked about what he thought Alloa could achieve this season, he added: "Obviously, when it's a club going up, the goal is always to stay in the league.

"That's the first job. But, I feel as if there's no real difference in any of the clubs and no reason that we can't reach the playoffs."

Zanatta goes straight into the Alloa squad for Saturday's crucial match against Inverness Caledonian Thistle.