Alan Trouten insists Alloa Athletic will let their big-spending rivals sweat it out in the battle for Championship safety.
The 33-year-old forward grabbed the winner as Peter Grant’s part-timers clinched their first league win of the season on Saturday with a 1-0 success at Queen of the South.
Alloa spent much of last term fighting the dreaded drop with the full-time trio of Falkirk, Partick Thistle and Queen of the South for company.
But Trouten revealed the Wasps are continuing to embrace the challenge as they end the opening month of the season above Queens, Dunfermline Athletic and the Jags.
The former Ayr United star said: “Our form wasn’t great before this game so this is a massive win for us.
“We finished above two full-time teams last season but we feel as if we’re in there and that we’re able to compete with anybody in this league.
“From the outside, everyone will expect the two part-time teams to be down there but that’s Arbroath won two in a row and we’ve got our first win.
“All the pressure is on these other teams and some of these teams are spending massive amounts of money, especially when compared to Alloa.
“The only pressure is what we put on ourselves in that dressing room and the gaffer puts us under pressure to go that wee bit further as a team.”
Trouten’s goal – which came at the end of a daring counter-attack – was the only piece of quality in an otherwise dreadful 90 minutes with very little created by either side.
Midfielder Iain Flannigan embarked on a superb run before spraying the ball wide to Thomson whose cross was slammed home by Trouten.
“I’m in there to create chances and score goals,” he added. “It was a great ball from big Robert. When I saw him pulling wide I just thought I’d hit the box and give him an option.
“We were in this position last season but we’ve got good players and we knew a win was always going to come.”
Queens are now without a win in four league games and defender Darren Brownlie admitted their dismal display got what it deserved.
The 25-year-old said: “It was really poor right across the pitch from us and it’s difficult to say why that is.
“That’s definitely the worst performance we have had this season. We didn’t create enough and the goal we lost was very disappointing.”
Alloa gaffer Grant said: “I’m absolutely delighted. We showed a diligence to fight for everything and I think that’s what got it for us in the end.”
Meanwhile, Doonhamers chief Allan Johnston said: “We didn’t handle it well when we lost the goal and we didn’t put them under enough pressure. It was a poor goal for us to lose but there has to be a better reaction. We have to show a bit of character.”
