Kyle Wilkie admits he's not sure what to expect when Montrose make their first league visit to Airdrie in 31 years - but the midfielder says the Diamonds only need to concentrate on their own performance.

​

Wilkie joined Airdrie from East Fife this summer, and the new signing has settled in well despite a large turnover in personnel.

​

“It’s been great, the training’s brilliant - it’s very organised and the manager is a great motivator.

 

“When you go into a new changing room with so many new boys, it’s normally quite quiet - but this is such a lively place. We’ve got a good mixture of quality youngsters and good experience."

​

Having featured throughout pre-season and the Betfred Cup campaign, the 27-year-old midfielder is pleased with how the side are gelling.

​

“I felt those games were quite a good gauge for the season ahead. We’re playing with a lot of energy and hitting teams on the break.

 

"There are enough good footballers here that we can do that well."

​

With the season beginning in earnest with a 3-1 league win at Station Park last weekend, Wilkie was glad that the Diamonds showed they can 'win ugly'.

​

“We weren’t happy with our performance but we’re delighted with the three points - that’s the sign of a good team.

 

“It’s the first game of the season, so to go up to Forfar and get a result away from home is fantastic."

​

With four out of this year's ten League One sides hailing from Angus, it's no surprise that Airdrie face another side from the area in their second league fixture - a home game against newly-promoted Montrose.

​

Kyle says the Diamonds need to concentrate on their own game when they face the League Two champions.

​

“I’ve not seen Montrose in a while so it’s hard to know what to expect.

 

"When a team comes up they’re usually buzzing and ready to go, so I’m expecting a difficult game.

 

“If we take care of our own performance and do all the right things, it should go well."

​

Manager Stephen Findlay is looking for improvement from his side.

​

"Montrose play to a structure that saw them win the league last season, and they’ve improved their personnel over the summer.

 

"We’ll treat them with every respect, but again we’ll go with confidence as the home team, we’ll be positive and try to improve on our performance from last week.

 

"I would hope that if we do that we’ll get the result that we’re looking for."

​

Kieran MacDonald returns from suspension for Airdrie, and Findlay is hopeful that he'll have a full squad to choose from with Kieran Millar likely to have recovered from a groin strain.

​

Steven Reid is the referee at the Penny Cars Stadium.