Jake Hastie is relishing his Hampden return, but the winger expects Queen's Park to be as tough as any League One opponent.

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Airdrie travel to the national stadium on Saturday looking to make it three games unbeaten after claiming four points out of six against Forfar Athletic and Raith Rovers.

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On-loan Motherwell starlet Hastie feels it should have been six.

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"The squad reacted to the draw with Raith as if it was a defeat - we had put so much into the game.

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"There were plenty of positives to take from the performance though, and we know that if we play like that every week we'll win more than we lose."

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Hastie was on the scoresheet in each of the last two games, claiming BBC Alba's man of the match award against Raith.

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The 18-year-old is pleased with his recent form.

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"I've been happy with how I've been playing, and it's nice to get among the goals. I just have to keep working hard and doing what I'm doing now."

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With a trip to Hampden looming, Jake is anticipating another challenging encounter.

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"I'm looking forward to going back to Hampden, I played there before in the Youth Cup final with Motherwell.
 

 

"We know it'll be a tough game on Saturday. Queen's Park are a strong physical side and it'll be just as hard as every other game in this league."

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Stevie Findlay is also expecting a testing afternoon.

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"It's important we build on the back of our last two performance, which I felt were excellent.

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"Queen's Park will be tough, and we'll need to compete all over the pitch. If we continue to work hard as a team and improve in the areas we've discussed with the players, there's no reason for us not to be confident going into the game - but we'll need to deliver a high quality performance."

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The Diamonds first-team coach confirmed that Ryan Conroy is still sidelined alongside long-term absentee Marc Fitzpatrick, but otherwise the squad has a clean bill of health.

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Goalkeeper Kelby Mason has returned to Hearts following the expiry of his emergency loan deal, and Findlay added: "We'd like to express our thanks to both Kelby and Hearts for helping us out of a difficult situation. We wish Kelby all the best with his future career."

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Referee Grant Irvine is the man in the middle at the national stadium.