Craig Ross says the Diamonds must do whatever it takes to get back to winning ways, and hopes to right some wrongs when St Mirren B visit for Tuesday’s KDM Evolution Trophy tie.

Saturday’s 2-1 away defeat to Queen of the South made it five without a win for the Diamonds, and speaking after the match, vice-captain Ross was frustrated by his side’s naivety.

“As a group we had a big discussion a couple of weeks ago, just trying to iron things out as a changing room, and one of the things that came up was that games are going to happen in this league were you lose a goal – and you can’t fold.

“We said that, and It’s exactly what we’ve done. That’s the frustrating thing. When you give teams chances like that they’re going to score.”

Second half goals from Cole Coughlin and Zander Mackenzie turned things around for the Doonhamers after Liam McLeish had headed Airdrie into a first-half lead.

The result – Queen of the South’s first win of the campaign – saw the Diamonds drop to tenth place, and Ross believes that the Dumfries side’s joy should serve as motivation for Airdrie.

“You look at Queens today, you could see they were desperate for that win. The way they were celebrating at the end, they’d been really needing that.

“That’s what we’re needing. There’s got to be a pride in that, even in the cup, you’ve got to go out to win every game. We need to win on Tuesday night and build that bit of momentum, because right now it’s not good enough.”

That means overcoming St Mirren B, who already have two wins out of two in the competition after beating Clyde and East Fife.

Ross knows that the young Buddies will be no pushovers.

“St Mirren are a really good team – just because they’re a B team doesn't mean they’re going to be poor.

“We’ve seen with their result when they beat East Fife – we know exactly what game we’ve got on our hands and it’s up to us to go out and win that.

“Stirling Albion wasn’t good enough, today wasn’t good enough, so quite frankly we have to go out and put a performance on.”

And Craig, a player who always performs with his heart on his sleeve, reiterates that putting in the hard graft is the only way to spark a change in fortunes.

“We’ve got to take pride in working hard for a performance. You’re not just going to turn up in any game and win, we’ve seen that.

“It might not be pretty grinding out results, but we need to start winning by any means.”

Head coach John Rankin said there will be no problem motivating his players as they look to build a platform for momentum.

“It should be a case of getting the bit between our teeth and reacting to what’s gone wrong.

“I think St Mirren are the best team that we’ll play against in this cup. They’re a good side, so it’s going to be a tough game. We knew that from the word go.

“They’ll come with lots of energy and lots of enthusiasm, and we need to match that and have that bit of quality.”

Wide midfielders Zac Butterworth and Robbie Mahon continue to miss out for the Diamonds, while loanees Callum Burnside and Josh Gentles are cup-tied.

Josh Hay referees Tuesday’s game.

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