Sam Graham expects a reaction from Airdrie as they look to put last weekend’s disappointment behind them with a positive result against Morton on Saturday.

The Diamonds slipped to a 2-0 home defeat against league leaders Falkirk last time out, but now travel to face a different challenge at Cappielow against a typically tough opponent.

Defender Graham says the squad are aware that improvement is required – and are determined to make it happen.

“We see that we weren’t good enough with the ball – we weren’t good in and out of possession.

“We’ve addressed that and we’ve been working on it in training, different types of ways we can get out and things like that, and we’ll move forward with a positive approach.”

Former Sheffield United man Graham is one of 15 new faces at the Albert Bartlett Stadium this season, and the Englishman stresses that such a high player turnover requires some time to settle in.

“It’s defo a work in progress. There’s a lot of new boys in here from last year, so it takes time to gel and bond with each other, know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

“It takes that time to click together – and then when it does click, it becomes very good.”

Last Saturday’s result meant an uncharacteristic second consecutive home defeat for the Diamonds, and while a trip to Greenock would normally signal a difficult away day, Graham is confident that he and his team-mates can perform on the road.

“The game against Queen of the South, we played well. We did everything we needed to do in that game – we got the result, and we played well with that.

“That’s the type of game we need to take into Saturday, but as well as that we need to fight, we need to win the first and second balls.”

Cappielow was Airdrie’s most-frequented away venue last season, having visited Morton twice in the Championship and once in the SPFL Trust Trophy.

There was a win apiece on league duty, Lewis McGregor grabbing the only goal last September before George Oakley and Michael Garrity put Morton two ahead in February, with Callum Fordyce heading a late consolation for the Diamonds.

A goalless SPFL Trust Trophy tie last November led to a 6-5 penalty shoot-out win for Airdrie, 11 days after the eventual winners had progressed to the quarter-final with a 4-2 win over Rangers B at the same venue.

With Dougie Imrie’s side yet to register their first league win this season, Sam expects a tough encounter – but says the Diamonds will be well up for it following last week’s disappointment.

“That’s the main thing, we can move on to the next game and we have a week to prepare for it and hopefully get that result we need.

“I expect a reaction. We want to get the fans out their chairs, mainly – set things right, learn from the mistakes that we made last weekend, and move forward.”

Player-manager Rhys McCabe echoes the defender’s sentiments as he looks forward to another hard-fought match in Greenock.

“The games that you get against Morton, especially at Cappielow, are always competitive – you know for a fact that they’re going to give 110%, there’s going to be commitment, that element of dig and hard work.

“They’ve recruited in the summer, probably a different kind of player than they’re used to, and they’re trying to go down a route of changing the way they’re playing.

“I fully expect it to be a competitive game, there will be that wee bit of needle in terms of them being desperate to get three points at home to kick-start their season, and obviously we’ll be trying to put right our result from Saturday.”

Long-term injury victims Aidan Wilson, Dean McMaster, Liam McStravick and McCabe himself continue to miss out, while Luke Badley-Morgan and Terrell Agyemang will face late checks following knocks sustained against Falkirk.

Referee Gavin Duncan is in charge of his second match featuring Airdrie this season, having officiated July’s 2-0 Premier Sports Cup win over Queen of the South.

Match tickets are available using the link below, and our DiamondsTV video (subscribers outwith the UK and Ireland) and audio (pay-per-match worldwide) streams are available.

Please note that the refreshment kiosks at Cappielow operate on a cash-only basis.