FORMER Celtic youngster Calum Waters says Alloa Athletic should be proud to have produced the best away performance at Parkhead this season.

Two late goals from James Forrest and Moussa Dembele saw Celtic advance to the semi finals of the Betfred Cup to put an end to the Wee County sides heroic run, but the talented full back says the Wasps must take the positives from the defeat.

Waters told Advertiser Sport: “I enjoyed coming back to Paradise and all of the boys enjoyed being apart of the occasion, but it was just disappointing that we came up short in the end.

"Two late goals have killed us, but the boys can be proud of what we achieved because a lot of bigger teams like Rangers, Aberdeen and Motherwell have lost four and five goals here.

"This group of players we have just hate losing, but we have put up a great fight and we have to just take the positives from it.

"We have probably put in the best performance of any away team here this season and that is something we should take away from it.

"The gaffer installed the mindset into us pre-match that it wasn’t impossible to go there and get a result and I think that had a big bearing on our performance.”

Waters admits he would love to have been starring in the green and white of Celtic had things turned out differently for him after watching his one-time understudy Kieran Tierney make the breakthrough at Celtic Park.

But he is grateful for his summer move to Alloa Athletic because it has given him the chance to prove he is good enough to be a first team regular.

He said: “I always think what might have been when I see Kieren Tierney starring opposite me for Celtic because it is something I would have loved to do in the first team.

"Kieran deserves all his success because I know how hard he works. We worked closely together for a number of years and he is a great lad.

"What happened to me is just life and to be honest it might just have been the best thing that could’ve happened for me because I am enjoying my football again where I am.

"I feel like coming here has given me that chance to become a regular first team player, but just being happy in my football again is probably what is bringing the best out in me.

"The move here has been the best thing for me and I feel like I have established myself in the team now and I am really pleased with my form so far, but I want to keep improving and keep doing well to help the team win the league.”

Alloa now have to quickly re-focus on the serious business of the promotion hunt at the top of League 1 as they prepare to face Stenhousemuir on the road this weekend and the 20-year-old believes the Parkhead experience will give them a boost going forward.

Waters added: “I think the sort of performance we produced at Celtic shows you the spirit we have within this group and now we can focus back on our main aim of promotion.

"This sort of experience will stand us in good stead going forward in the title race and hopefully it has brought us closer together as a group. We are right up for that challenge now and the team spirit we have gives us a great chance now.

“Saturday is the big one for us now heading into Stenhousemuir now. I know we will just take the positives from this one, put our disappointment to one side and focus on getting the three points at the weekend.

"It is difficult not seeing the manager or training before the Stenhousemuir game, but we have a good bunch here and we all know our roles