EXPERIENCED midfielder Scott Allan has targeted making New Central Park a "fortress" for Kelty Hearts and showing their League One rivals they'll be a tough nut to crack.

The 32-year-old, who signed for the club in the summer, has been influential as the side sit proudly at the top of the table after four matches.

Draws at Montrose, and with Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Saturday, have bookended wins over Stenhousemuir and Arbroath, one of the former Hibernian and Celtic star's former clubs.

After earning a hard-fought point against Duncan Ferguson's Highlanders, Allan told Times Sport: "It's our third clean sheet in a row, which shows we're not easy to get through, and we've got guys throwing everything at it to stop goals going in, and we had another good performance from the goalkeeper.

"Yes, we might not have played well in terms of how we usually want to do going forward, but, sometimes when you don't get that, you can be on the end of defeats in these games.

"I think we showed a side to our game, which we have a few times this year, that we're not going to be an easy team to beat.

"It's a long season and we want to make this a fortress and make it hard for teams. We didn't play as fluid as we want to on the ball, but, defensively, as a team, considering the things that happened with the manager (Michael Tidser) and Tam O'Ware going off, I thought we reacted really well.

"It's something to build on. It's still just a good start."

Allan, who also took on the role of first team coach after signing for the club, praised Kelty's defensive show, particularly after Tidser and skipper O'Ware, an important presence at centre back, were subbed by half-time.

"Defensively we were excellent," he commented.

"Obviously the manager, who sets the tone for how we're going to play in there, goes off in the first half. I thought Billy Owens came in and was excellent. He gave us that wee bit of bite in the middle of the park, so really happy with him.

"Obviously your captain goes off as well, which is two natural leaders, so there were a lot of young players who had to roll the sleeves up. It turns out it's another clean sheet, which is the positive that we're looking at today.

"I think we'll need to get some players in to bolster the squad, but the players that have been coming in, or being asked to come off the bench, have been excellent."