Dean McMaster says Airdrie must put bad form out of their minds when they face FC Edinburgh in Saturday’s match at the new-look Meadowbank Stadium.

Having gone five games without a win, the Diamonds now face the side who handed them their heaviest defeat of the season with September’s 6-0 win at the Excelsior.

McMaster was an unused sub that day having battled back from an injury sustained in the season opener at Cowdenbeath, but has started the last two in the heart of the midfield.

The St Mirren loanee says it’s been a frustrating beginning to life at his adopted club.

“It’s been hard, I obviously just came back into the team and I just want to get good momentum, good form. I just want to win!

“After 6-7 weeks out, it’s been hard to get back in so I’m just trying to my best for the team, to be honest.

“They’ve been difficult games, we’ve not really got round to what we’ve been doing in training. It’s just a wee bit of bad form and we’re going to pick it up.”

Two second half goals secured the points for hosts Alloa at the Indodrill last weekend, and McMaster says the Diamonds need to show more.

“I thought there were times when we could have kept the ball and really hurt them. Our game plan didn’t really go out the window, but it was hard to implement.

“We should be brave on the ball and do what we do. Get the ball down, play and make chances - that’s what we’re all about.”

At 19 years old, the midfielder is part of a youthful squad at Airdrie, and is impressed by the level of ability on show having dropped two divisions for his loan spell.

“I think it’s excellent. I think the football that gets played - when I first came here I didn’t expect it at all - the way we knock the ball about and the way people can deal with it, it’s excellent.

“I want to play as many games as possible and do what I can for the team. Ultimately I just want to play every week and make sure we give the best possible chance for the team to win.”

A victory would certainly be welcome as the side visit the capital on Saturday looking to end their winless run and make amends for that earlier defeat to Alan Maybury’s side.

Dean says that result showed the competitive nature of League 1, but by concentrating on their own performance Airdrie can bring home the points.

“Every game’s tough here, we’re not going to get any easy games. That’s not what we go out thinking, we think about ourselves and how we can do our best and win the game.

“We’re going in there just focussing on ourselves as I said. Just go in there, play how we play and get the win. Zone everything else out - it’s about the game and what we do in the 90 minutes.”

Player-manager Rhys McCabe agrees that an improved performance will be required - but believes that a return to early-season form would be the perfect platform for a turnaround in results.

“We understand that we’ve been under a few bad results, so it’s important that we work hard at training and we do our due diligence in terms of preparation.

“We know how Edinburgh are in terms of what they give - they’re well organised and tough to break down, and if you look at their results recently they’ve proven to be a stuffy team for teams to get a result against.

“We need to make sure we’re on top of our game.”

The Diamonds boss is again without the injured Josh Rae and Adam Frizzell, while Cammy Ballantyne sits out the final game of his two-match ban.

Referee Graham Beaton is in charge of an Airdrie match for the first time this season. Ticket information is available using the link below.