Dale Carrick can’t wait for the competitive action to get underway, and the former Livingston striker is looking forward to a meeting with his old team-mates.

 

Airdrie welcome Premiership new boys Livi to the Penny Cars Stadium on Saturday in the opening fixture of Betfred Cup Group F, and Carrick is glad to be back in the thick of it.

​

“It’s good to be back in the mix, it’s a very different changing room but pre-season has been good and we’re looking forward to getting back to playing competitive football.

 

“I missed the first week of pre-season as I got married late in the summer. The gaffer was good enough to allow me the time off for my honeymoon, but I was making sure I was ticking over - avoiding the all-inclusive food and going to the gym every morning!”

 

With Carrick leaving the West Lothian side to join the Diamonds in January, he sees this season as the real beginning of his Airdrie career.

 

“It feels like this is a proper start after only being here for the second half of last season, so with a lot of new boys coming in it’s time to start making new partnerships and kick on.

 

“I feel I’ve started quite well in pre-season, I got a few minutes here and there then I started the game when we went up to Inverness and scored a goal. 

 

“Once you get that first goal, it’s just about getting the next one and keeping it going.”

 

With five Airdrie goals already in the bag, Dale is keen to take the chance to increase his tally against his old side.

 

“I’m looking forward to Saturday, I’ve got a lot of good friends at Livingston so it’ll be good to see them - but once we cross that line we’re in competition and I want to do well against them.

 

“They’re a good side, and we know they’ve had success playing direct football in the past, but they have a new manager in Kenny Miller so we don’t really know what to expect. Saturday is about what we do, and everyone is looking sharp.

 

“It would be nice to get a goal - I always like to score no matter who we’re up against and at the end of the day, that’s what I’m here to do!”

 

Stevie Findlay is under no illusions as to the difficulty of Saturday's task, but the Airdrie boss is keen to see his side make an impression.

 

“We have to believe in ourselves and go with a gameplan where we try to hurt them, and take the opportunities that will present themselves.

 

“The first step in that is making ourselves hard to beat, so that’s what we’ll aim to do.”

 

The Diamonds only injury doubt is defender Jonathan Page, who is recovering from a bruised heel sustained in the pre-season friendly against Stirling Albion.