Declan Gallagher says Hamilton Academical can expect a much-changed Airdrie side in Saturday’s Lanarkshire derby as the Diamonds look to extend their unbeaten run to nine matches.

The experienced defender has been a steady influence at the back since joining as player-assistant manager in July, but watched Tuesday evening’s KDM Evolution Trophy win over Hearts B from the sidelines.

Speaking after the match, he was pleased by the reaction shown after a disappointing opening spell.

“I think the first and second half were night and day. First half we were really passive, we weren’t getting to grips with the press. We were all over the place, disjointed, but I think that comes down to 11 changes being made to the team.

“Second half we came out and went right after them – we pressed them high, kept a high line and went man-for-man, and I think you could see that we took control of the game.”

Although the side’s winning streak came to an end with last week’s 2-2 draw at East Kilbride, there have been eight matches played since the Diamonds last tasted defeat.

Gallagher wants that run to continue in Saturday’s televised derby.

“It’s all about keeping that confidence going, keeping the momentum going, and it’s a really happy place to be right now. I think you could even see that on Saturday between the players and the fans.

“The way that we’re getting some results, and the fight that the boys are showing week in week out – even today with 11 different players you saw the fight in the second half so we’ve got that in abundance now.”

And while nobody connected to the club will recall the last meeting with Accies – a 4-0 reversal at New Douglas Park – with any fondness, Gallagher says it’s a good measure of how far the squad have come.

“At the end of the day, you have to reflect. It was a hard result we took that day – but we’re a changed team from then.

“We’ve now found a spine of the team that’s working for us, so I think we are a different animal going into this game.

“All the boys in the changing room know what this game means to the fans – we saw the backing on Saturday at East Kilbride, they were with us every step of the way, and we know that they’re going to be like that because it’s a derby.”

Kai Smutek added to ex-Diamond Kyle MacDonald’s hat-trick on that August afternoon across Lanarkshire, and while Declan expects a similar approach from Darian McKinnon’s side this time round, he also expects much more from Airdrie.

“They’re a hard-working team and they know exactly what they’re doing. They’ll go out there and they’ll probably look to be physical like they did in the last game.

“They bullied us – there’s no shying away from that and the boys know that. I think it’ll be much the same, they’ll come and try to dominate us physically.

“We have to stand up to that, and from there we need to take the game to them. We can’t back down, we need to be up for the fight, and then hopefully our quality will show through.”

Head coach John Rankin knows his side will need to be better – but hopes that the recent upturn in form shows that that is the case.

“We need to be improved, that’s first and foremost. When we went to New Douglas Park it was nowhere near good enough. When things went against us we began to feel down about ourselves and we were nowhere near aggressive enough – we got bullied all over the pitch.

“On Saturday I expect the same sort of Hamilton performance, battling and spirited, and we need to make sure we match that.

“It’s a local derby, it’s live on TV, and the players need to be ready to take that challenge on. We’re excited about it as we work towards the game, and it’s one where we want to put on a far better performance than earlier in the season.”

The Diamonds boss expects no change to his squad’s injury situation, with Cole McKinnon, Zac Butterworth and Liam McLeish sidelined. Callum Burnside and Josh Gentles once again rejoin the squad after the midweek KDM fixtures.

Cameron Stirling is the man in the middle for the derby clash, which kicks off at 5:30pm.

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