Airdrieonians v Queen of the South preview
20th August 2013
Manager Jimmy Boyle looks set to make changes to his starting line-up for tonight's Ramsdens Challenge Cup tie against Queen of the South.
The Diamonds boss will rotate his squad for the second-round match at New Broomfield as he weighs up his options ahead of the League One clash with Rangers.
Boyle wants a reaction from his side after the 1-0 defeat to Stenhousemuir at the weekend which ended Airdrie's unbeaten start to the campaign.
He has injury problems with midfielders Nathan Blockley and Martin Hardie although he can call upon the services of ex-Kilmarnock defender Garry Hay who has signed a deal to Christmas.
"I don't think we played well," Boyle said of the loss to the Warriors. "I thought the tempo was poor and we didn't move the ball quickly enough. But we created enough chances to go on and win it.
"It wasn't good enough and we will need to go away and have a look at a few things.
"The biggest problem is we haven't kept a clean sheet. It was one ball through the middle; a clearance.
"When you look at some of the goals we have lost recently, then there is something that needs to be sorted out."
Meanwhile, new recruit Paddy Boyle is looking forward to tackling Queens and life at Airdrie after agreeing a one-year contract.
The 26-year-old, who has previously been on the books of Partick Thistle and Dunfermline Athletic, said: "It's been a long summer for me so I'm delighted to get everything sorted out.
"In the last few weeks, I've known that coming here was a good possibility but you're never sure what will happen until it's all done.
"The season had started so it was time to get in somewhere. There is not a lot of money in full-time football so I'm looking to come here and see how it works out.
"Airdrie is a good club. The gaffer has been good to me and it would be great to repay the faith he's shown in me."
He added: "I think it helps having a game on Tuesday night so we can get this out of our system but it's going to be a hard week.
"We can't really look forward too much to the Rangers game and we need to go out and attack Queen of the South.
"They are a very good team. I know a lot of the boys down there and they will come here expecting to get the win."