Airdrie boss Ian Murray hopes the club’s Celtic connections can help them land the League One title.
And he says Saturday’s 4-1 win over Montrose – which cut the gap to league leaders Cove Rangers to five points – puts extra expectation on his side when they travel up to Peterhead on Saturday.
The New Broomfield club have moved in the last month to bring left-back Brody Paterson and striker Jon Afolabi in on loan from the Glasgow giants, and Murray hopes that gives them an edge.
Paterson started the game on Saturday while Afolabi climbed off the bench, having sealed his move on Friday evening.
Murray said: “It’s one of those things in football where it seems to be a good fit for both clubs at the moment. We really trust their judgement of young players, they seem to trust our management of young players.
“I thought Brody was excellent, I really did. I saw really positive signs in his first game against Clyde, I saw more signs last week, and I think there’s loads of improvement in him.
“He’s at a good level already, but he’s one of those guys who wants to learn, wants to improve.
“His energy up and down that flank is a natural energy that he brings to the team, and he has fitted in seamlessly.
“It feels like we’ve got loads of players now, but we’re just catching up with a lot of the other squads.
“Covid has been a problem for every team, injuries on top of that, and I think it’s a vital time in the season just to reinforce us, towards the end of February, with areas that we felt we had to strengthen. It’s a complete squad game, and I think the players realise that.”
Murray says Saturday’s result, which also pushed Airdrie four points clear of third-placed Montrose, has raised a few eyebrows, ahead of their trip to Peterhead.
He said: “It’s a huge game, it’s a difficult place to go, but it’s where we got our first win this season.
“They’re a dangerous side, they’ve got good individual players. They’re dogged, they’re well organised and have a really experienced manager.
“We’ll have to go up there with a little bit of expectation, see how we handle that.
“To be in the third quarter and have amassed 17 points with two games to go is a really high total so far.
“If we can get another six on top of that then it’s a fantastic third quarter for us.”
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