Callum Fordyce says points on the board are all that matter as Airdrie travel to Tannadice to face league leaders Dundee United.

A hectic period of fixtures continues with Tuesday night’s visit to the City of Discovery, and a tough challenge lies in wait as The Diamonds aim to end a three-match winless streak.

Assistant-manager Fordyce returned to the heart of the defence at Cappielow on Saturday, having missed the previous weekend’s match with a hip knock. The experienced defender found the net with an 88th-minute header, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Morton taking the points with the odd goal in three.

Speaking after the match, Fordyce conceded that Airdrie got what they deserved after a below-par performance.

“It’s hard to pinpoint it, we probably weren’t at the races. The first goal was very frustrating on our part - we have a corner kick and they catch us on the counter. The second goal is a bit similar, there’s talk that it could have been offside but the decision didn’t go for us and it’s a great finish from the boy.

“They had two shots in the first half and two goals, that’s the frustrating bit. Second half we were better, we huffed and puffed, but ultimately we weren’t good enough.”

The result made it two consecutive league defeats for the Diamonds, who went down at home to Ayr United the previous weekend, but Fordyce is happy for a quick chance to put things right.

“It’s probably uncharacteristic of us, but it’s a young squad that has to learn. Ourselves, we have to learn as well.

“We’re disappointed, there’s no doubt about that, but the good thing about football is there’s a game right round the corner on Tuesday. We need to go away and assess things, and hopefully we’ll get a result.

“At the end of the day you would rather play games than train, it’s as simple as that. It’s a crazy amount of games in that period, but look - it doesn’t matter. You want to be playing and we want to go out there and showcase what we can do.”

While a stern test undoubtedly awaits against Jim Goodwin’s Terrors, Airdrie have received plaudits for their performances against the league leaders to date, particularly in the first Tannadice meeting in September.

A Mathew Cudjoe screamer and Kai Fotheringham’s stoppage-time goal handed the home side a 2-0 win despite a very good Airdrie display, and the scoreline was replicated at the Excelsior in October when Fotheringham grabbed both goals.

Turning good football into points is a tall order against a side who are on track to return to the Premiership at the first attempt, but Callum says the Diamonds have it in their locker.

“The performance we had up there was great - but ultimately we still got beat.

“You want to win football matches. Give me playing rubbish and getting three points any day of the week, you’re in the business to win games.

“Going up there, we know we’re capable of playing well, but it’s about playing well and winning. We’ve got a squad in there that are capable of doing that, so fingers crossed we can.”

Manager Rhys McCabe is hoping that his side can raise their game to upset the odds on Tuesday.

“The performance levels, especially up there, were really good. Pleasing. Not so much at our place, but they’ve dropped results since then. I think when we played them they were still unbeaten.

“We’ve got to go there and make sure that we put on a better level of performance, and hopefully we can do that.”

The Diamonds boss is hoping to be back in contention after missing Saturday’s match through illness, and midfielder Liam McStravick may also be deemed fit to feature.

Lewis McGregor’s situation is being assessed after the winger was injured within four minutes of coming on on Saturday, and fellow midfielder Murray Aiken also remains sidelined.

Referee Grant Irvine is in charge of his fifth Airdrie match of the season, having previously officiated August’s 2-1 loss at Dunfermline, October’s 1-1 home draw with Queen’s Park, and the 2-0 home win over Arbroath and the 1-0 Scottish Cup win at Stranraer in November.

Match tickets are available using the link below, and our DTVLive video (subscribers outwith UK & Ireland) and audio (pay-per-match worldwide) streams will be available subject to connectivity. Dundee United are offering a PPV stream to domestic viewers. Supporters unable to attend can purchase access at https://tv.dundeeunitedfc.co.uk/

Hosts Dundee United have advised that refreshment kiosks operate on a card-only basis, and that no drums/loudspeakers etc will be permitted in the stadium. Detection dogs in training will be present at the match.