Airdrie might have been forced onto the sidelines over the weekend, but boss Ian Murray says they have been far from idle.
Montrose’s 0-0 Scottish Cup third round draw at Kelty Hearts meant they hosted their opponents on Saturday in a replay which they lost on penalties, scrapping Airdrie’s visit there, and that match will be played this Tuesday.
Murray has used the unexpected hiatus to head out with his coaching team to games throughout the various leagues, looking at players in situations they might not usually be afforded.
Murray said: “We had to wait and see when the rearranged date was for Montrose.
“It could have been next Tuesday, a week on Tuesday, or further down the line.
“There are games on all over the place, so we took games in and watched players, perhaps, that we don’t often get the opportunity to do, in League Two and maybe Championship and stuff."
Meanwhile, Murray says his side have made progress to be sitting joint-second in the League One table, because usually they’re trying to catch up at this point in the season.
The Diamonds are five points behind Cove with a game in hand, one ahead of fourth-placed Montrose, and level on points with Queen’s Park.
But Murray says the lead will change hands repeatedly over the coming months.
He said: “It’s exceptionally tight and that comes from us all being bunched together. There are probably about five or six clubs at the moment within seven to nine points.
“We’re seven ahead of Alloa and we’re two off Cove, so nine points of a difference, and that’s three games, which is not a lot – plus we all play each other all the time as well.
“There will be points dropped all over the place. We’re all going to have games where we felt we had missed opportunities, and there will be games where we sometimes get a little bit of luck.
“There’s a long way to go, we’re really happy with where we are.
“At this stage we’re normally a little bit behind the curve and always looking up the way to try and catch teams, and it’s normally not just one.”
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