Ben Wilson says home comforts can be key for Airdrie as the Diamonds return to the Albert Bartlett Stadium to face Queen’s Park after a difficult couple of weeks on the road.

The summer signing leads the club’s scoring charts after a blistering start to his Airdrie career, netting six goals in his first four competitive matches.

Although chances were few and far between for the striker as the Diamonds lost heavily to Ayr United and Dundee, Wilson is looking forward to a return to Airdrie this weekend.

“It’s been a tough couple of games for us, that’s clear to see. We’re remaining positive, we’ve been training the last couple of days and it’s been good.

“We’re looking to put it right on Saturday in front of the home fans.”

Last weekend saw a second-round exit from the Premier Sports Cup as Dundee triumphed 6-1 at the Scot Foam Stadium.

Although there is no doubting the better team won on the day, the final score was perhaps not a fair reflection on the match as the Diamonds went close in a dominant spell before the Dees’ third, and half of the home side’s goals came after defender Dylan MacDonald had been dismissed.

Wilson sees the positives with the match coming on the tails of a 5-0 league defeat at Ayr.

“In the first half hour there wasn’t much in the game at all, it was a much improved performance from the previous Friday.

“In the second half I thought we started really well, it’s just that sucker-punch goal that kills us off a wee bit, but I thought it was an improved performance, definitely.”

With the league cup competition over for another year, Airdrie’s attention now turns back to the William Hill Championship and a return to the Albert Bartlett Stadium.

The Diamonds got off to a winning start at home against Raith Rovers, winning 1-0 on the opening day, and Wilson wants a return to that early-season form.

“Our full focus now is on the league. We had a good first game against Raith here, and we’re just looking to build on that again now.

“We started the season really well in the group stage, winning three. We can always look back to that – that’s how good we can be. If we play the way we did in those games, there’s no reason we can’t bring that back.

“That’s the biggest one for us now, get back on the bandwagon and just keep building from there.”

Saturday’s opponents are Callum Davidson’s Queen’s Park, who are yet to register a league win after their opening fixtures.

It took a stoppage-time winner for Aberdeen to see off the Spiders in last weekend’s Premier Sports Cup tie, and Ben is relishing the prospect of another tough challenge against another opponent unfamiliar to the Northern Irishman.

“I’m looking forward to it. I’m still getting used to the boys here too, they’re still trying to know which way I’ll run and which way I move!

“It’s really exciting to be part of this league now, and I’m just looking to kick on again.”

Manager Rhys McCabe says his side must put recent results out of their minds as they prepare to face a talented Queen’s Park side.

“We’re back to league business now, and we’ve got to make sure we quickly learn from the mistakes, we eradicate them, and we get back to full focus on the league.

“Knowing and playing against Callum Davidson’s teams, they’re always set up really well. They’re coming off a decent performance up at Aberdeen, so they’ll have a bit of confidence and momentum from that.

“We fully expect a tough game, they’ve got individuals with good quality within their team that can cause anyone problems on their day. We’ve got to make sure that we’re aware of their threats, but at the same time don’t put them on a pedestal and look at them as a team that we can’t overcome.”

The Diamonds boss doesn’t have his troubles to seek on the injury front, with knee injuries ruling out Liam McStravick and Aidan Wilson. Lewis McGregor (ankle) also remains sidelined alongside McCabe himself (calf). Craig Watson, Dean McMaster and Aaron Reid are considered doubts for Saturday’s match, but defender Sam Graham has been cleared to join the squad.

Referee Craig Napier took charge of two Airdrie matches early last season, August’s home win against Partick Thistle and September’s defeat at Arbroath.

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