David Hutton is determined to make the most of his chance as Airdrie’s number one, and is aiming for back-to-back wins when the Diamonds take on Stenhousemuir.

 

The former Ayr, Dunfermline and Arbroath man has taken over in goal following Scott Gallacher’s injury against Montrose, and wants to remain as first choice.

 

“What happened to Gall is obviously unfortunate, but that’s just football sometimes. I’d been working hard to push him all the way before he got injured, so I’ll hopefully take my chance now.

 

“It’s absolutely horrible watching from the sidelines and waiting for an opportunity to come up. I hate it, and I’ve been telling the gaffer that!

 

“You just need to be patient - Gall got the nod before me, but I’ve been training hard and doing all the right things. Big Jim (Low) has been working us hard, so now I’ve got the number one shirt I want to keep it.”

 

Hutton has certainly staked a strong claim so far, making an acrobatic save within minutes of coming on against Montrose, and saving a penalty on the way to a clean sheet against Berwick Rangers on Tuesday.

 

The 33-year-old was pleased with how the Irn Bru Cup match unfolded.

 

“I’ve done my job… I didn’t concede and I was pleased with my penalty save. You’re always happy with a clean sheet as a goalkeeper.

 

“I thought the boys were brilliant, in the first half in particular we were magnificent. Hopefully we can take that on to Saturday now.”

 

That means a trip to Ochilview to face newly-promoted Stenhousemuir. The Warriors won the League One play-off last season, returning to the second tier after a single season in League Two.

 

Hutton expects a challenging afternoon.

 

“It’ll be a difficult game - Montrose showed us last week that the teams coming up will cause problems. They were a solid hard-working team, and Stenhousemuir will be the same. We won’t be treating them lightly.”

 

The more superstitious among the Airdrie support may well consider Brown Ferguson’s side to be something of a bogey team, with a string of late equalisers and last-minute winners in recent years.

 

David laughs off the suggestion.

 

“I don’t believe in that sort of thing - we’re all thinking positively and we know we can go there and get the three points.

 

“Everyone was pleased with Tuesday’s performance, so we’ll take that on to Saturday.”

 

Manager Stevie Findlay added: “We want to prove that the Montrose result was a one-off. We got a great response from the boys through the week, so we’ll go and be positive on Saturday and look to get back on track in the league.”

 

On the club’s injury situation, Findlay said: “Scott Gallacher has had an MRI, and we’re just waiting on the results. Kieran Millar may be another week away from a return, and we’re without Chris O’Neil - at the start of the season he was granted leave this weekend for a family wedding.”

 

David Lowe is the referee at Ochilview.