Justin Devenny says the Diamonds haven’t been performing to their capabilities - and the midfielder wants that to change when Montrose visit the Excelsior this weekend.

Airdrie’s disappointing form continued with a 3-1 defeat to FC Edinburgh last weekend, and Devenny says the squad are frustrated with a run of negative results.

“It’s obviously tough to take because we know we’re capable of so much more. I just think we need to keep our heads down at training, because it’s completely different at training - we’re flying.

“It’s just the small margins that aren’t particularly going our way, so it’s just about working hard and then hopefully our luck will come eventually.”

Devenny’s own season began in style as he scored in each of the Diamonds’ first three competitive matches, but having failed to hit the net since the last of those - the opener in a 2-0 win over St Mirren - he hopes to be back on the scoresheet soon.

“I started really well and lately I’ve hit a bit of a dry spell which isn’t good.

“For me, I just want to keep contributing towards the team and hopefully getting more goals which will obviously hopefully lead to wins - at the end of the day that’s the most important thing.

“I hope this is the week, as I said I’ve hit a bit of a dry spell. I’m not going to be selfish, but at the same time I really want to go and show what I can do!”

A goal - and a win - would certainly be welcomed on Saturday as Montrose come to town. The Gable Endies’ form has been almost a mirror-image of Airdrie’s, with Stewart Petrie’s men currently sitting third in the cinch League 1 table after a slow start.

The sides met in a frenetic rearranged match at Links Park at the start of the month, with Montrose running out 4-2 winners despite the Diamonds holding the upper hand in terms of possession and chances.

Devenny wants this to be the match in which Airdrie’s form turns around.

“Hopefully this is the game to put a stamp down.

“We started the season well, but this is hopefully the turning point where we go and show what we can really do and then try to win week in, week out.”

And according to Justin, there’s no lack of self-belief in the Diamonds camp who all insist that a single win can act as a catalyst in kick-starting the league campaign.

“We all believe in each other, we know that we’re more than capable of going and doing well in the league.

“We just need to pick up that momentum. All it takes is one win to flip that switch, to get us into winning ways. We need to just keep that mentality.”

Player-boss Rhys McCabe says that hard graft is the only way for his side to reverse their fortunes.

“Like everything in life, you’ve got to work hard, keep your head down, address the issues where you think you’re going wrong - and try to get ourselves as best equipped to play on Saturday as we can.

“We’ve got to make sure that we’re solid and we’ve got a good gameplan, but also still maintain that we’re on the front foot and we want to go and win the game.”

Striker Gabby McGill (foot) joins midfielder Adam Frizzell (ankle) on the sidelines, and while a return is still a while away for Josh Rae, the goalkeeper has resumed some light training as he battles back from shoulder surgery.

Cammy Ballantyne returns from suspension and goes into the squad to face his former team-mates.

Referee Dan McFarlane takes charge of his first ever Airdrie match.

Match tickets and streaming details for those outwith the UK and Ireland are available using the link below.