Adam Devine says preparation is key as Airdrie face yet another crunch battle this Saturday with a trip to Stark’s Park to take on Raith Rovers.

The Diamonds were the only bottom-four side not to lose last weekend as a goalless draw with Arbroath yielded a home point and a move off the foot of the table.

Now only three points separate the teams from seventh to tenth, and a win in Kirkcaldy would see Airdrie draw level on points with Raith – albeit with an inferior goal difference and having played a game more.

Three of this season’s four meetings with the Rovers have ended in draws – the most recent being last month’s KDM Evolution Trophy semi-final, which Raith won on penalties after a 1-1 tie.

Defender Devine started that match – but what does he expect at Stark’s on Saturday?

“Similar to when we played them a few weeks ago, a close game again. In that game I thought we played well, but obviously went to penalties and we were the unlucky side that time.

“We got a point on Saturday, so it’s something to build on – and we’re looking forward to the game at the weekend.

“We know what they bring, they’re a good attacking side. Both teams want to get the three points, so we need to go there with a gameplan and stick to it – and hopefully we come out on top.”

That gameplan has been the focus of this week’s training, and former Rangers youngster Devine says that he and his team-mates need to win control of Saturday’s match.

“We train the way we want to play every day. The manager’s really big on that, he wants us to be a possession-based team – the more you get the ball, the more chances you create and the less goals you concede.

“We kept a clean sheet at the weekend, so we want to build on that and hopefully add some goals.”

Goals have been in short supply since the 3-1 win over Morton at the end of last month, with the Diamonds subsequently drawing blanks against Queen’s Park and Arbroath.

With 21 of Airdrie’s 29 league matches ending in a draw or decided by a single-goal margin, the Diamonds players and fans alike will be hoping for a repeat of the last visit to Stark’s Park, when Gavin Gallagher, Euan Henderson and Chris Mochrie grabbed the goals in a comprehensive 3-0 victory.

Devine doesn’t see the profligacy of the last fortnight as an issue.

“I think we’re quite a young squad, so we do have quite a bit of confidence about us and we don’t dwell on things too much.

“Obviously we want to get back in amongst the goals and hopefully get the three points.

“You want to get the first goal in these games, you know how tight these games can be. I feel like once we manage to get that first goal, it’s a wee bit easier and the goals start going in.”

And as another away day beckons, Adam echoes the words of team-mate Charlie McArthur in calling for the Diamonds faithful to be the 12th man and roar their side to a big victory.

“I think Charlie touched on it last week, we just need the fans behind us.

“It’s a bit of a sticky patch, but we got beaten the other week and now we’ve managed to pick up a point, so we just want to keep trying to pick up points and climb up the table.”

Head coach Aaron Taylor-Sinclair expects a backlash from Dougie Imrie’s side after they suffered defeat to Dunfermline Athletic in last week’s Fife derby.

“It’s going to be a tough game, they’re coming off a disappointing result for them so they’re going to be fired up. It’s about how much we can match that, and then hopefully our quality takes over.

“We need to starting picking up three points – we play the teams all around us, so this would give us a big springboard going into the other games.

“It’s a big target for us – we can claw more teams into the fight down at the bottom, so that’s what we’ll be looking to do.”

The Diamonds boss hopes to have defender Craig Ross and striker Aaron Reid back in contention after the pair returned to training this week, while Dylan MacDonald and Dean McMaster will continue to be assessed ahead of the match.

Aidan Wilson and Alex King remain sidelined, while Lewis Strapp serves the second half of his two-match suspension.

Chris Graham referees a third Airdrie away game this season– the whistler was in charge when the Diamonds beat Greenock Morton 1-0 at Cappielow in December, and again a month later for the 1-1 draw at Ayr United.

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.