Craig Watson says Airdrie’s trip to Morton on Saturday will be a test of character after last weekend’s disappointing home defeat.

The Diamonds visit Cappielow for the third time this season looking to make up ground on Dougie Imrie’s side, who have leapfrogged Airdrie in the table following a fine run of form, albeit having played one game more.

Airdrie are looking to get back to winning ways after a 3-2 defeat to Ayr United, with all three goals coming from defensive mistakes.

Defender Watson grabbed one of Airdrie’s goals, but is quick to hold his hands up regarding the uncharacteristic errors at the back.

“I can only really speak about myself, at the second goal I’ve got to do better. The timing was horrible as well - we were nice and confident at half-time, given the first 45 minutes I thought we were pretty dominant.

“The most annoying thing about Saturday for me is that I can’t really remember them creating many chances. The fact that we gave them the opportunity to score three is the most annoying part.

“Hopefully it’s just three blips that happened to come on one day. Out the system, a good week’s training, and roll on Saturday!”

The trip to Greenock marks the start of a busy spell for the Diamonds, with four games in 15 days, but Watson is unfazed by the hectic schedule.

“That’s what we play football for, to play games. There’s a good few of the boys went through the Covid period where it was Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday half the time, so we’ve seen it at its busiest.

“It’s expected for this time of year, especially in Scotland with the cancelled games over winter, so we’re looking forward to it. It’s our chance to make the two games in hand count.”

With the fixture pile-up kicking off at Cappielow, Airdrie will be hoping to continue their unbeaten form against Morton this season, with the Greenock men yet to find the net in three meetings with the Diamonds.

Ex-Ton winger Lewis McGregor got the only goal of the game when the sides met on league duty in September, with Airdrie returning to the Clyde coast for an SPFL Trust Trophy match in November. There were no goals that day, with Airdrie advancing on penalties.

The sides played out another 0-0 draw a month later at the Excelsior, but Morton’s form has improved drastically since then with six wins and three draws in all competitions.

Watson expects a tough encounter against the league’s form side.

“It’ll be a hard game, we know that. Their confidence is obviously really high right now, and rightly so.

“We’ve just got to go there and play our game. We don’t fear anyone, and on our game we can beat anyone.

“It’s just about finding that confidence again after a bit of a knock. Good attitudes, good performance levels in training and then on to Saturday!”

With Saturday’s goal taking his tally for the season to four, Craig would be delighted to get his name on the scoresheet again this weekend - but insists that personal glory is of secondary importance.

“I needed to score it to make up for my mistake earlier!

“It’s obviously a nice wee bonus, but if I don’t score and we get three points that’s the main thing - that’s all I care about.”

Diamonds player-manager Rhys McCabe says his side will have to adapt to a Morton team on a roll.

“Credit to Dougie and Morton, they’ve had a massive upturn in results and they’ll be full of confidence.

“Every game is different, it’ll pose different challenges and different tests - ones that we’ll hopefully be ready for.

“I fully expect it to be a tough game. Conditions have been a factor at times when we’ve been there, but there’s no excuses - it’s two teams going out there on a decent run of form.”

Referee Euan Anderson returns to Cappielow having previously officiated September’s meeting between the sides. The whistler was also in charge of the Diamonds’ 2-0 away defeat to Dundee United a month later.

Match tickets are available using the link below. Unfortunately we are unable to provide our DTVLive video stream on Saturday, but live audio commentary is available worldwide as usual.