Legend Sandy Stewart reckons that Airdrieonians can earn promotion to the Championship next term.
The former defender and gaffer at the Diamonds believes that the mixture off full-time and part-time football is a recipe for success.
Stewart, who has been involved at Ayr as a coach, believes that the Somerset Park side have set the template on how to bridge the gap to the second tier – and tipped Ian Murray and his new recruits to follow in their footsteps.
Having worked alongside Mark Wilson and Gordon Dalziel in the previous Tom Wotherspoon full-time era , he believes that with a good core the squad can challenge in League One and beyond.
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However, he believes that the summer recruitment drive can see them go one step further than the play-off semi-final during Wilson’s tenure.
He told the Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser: “When I had just left Blackburn, Gordon (Dalziel) gave me a phone and asked if I would come in and help out Mark (Wilson) and Donald (Jennow).
“It was a good group at that time and the boys were very receptive to those ideas. With the full-time football model at the time there was a lot of bodies and they needed more personnel to help out with the day- to-day stuff.
“They came very close that season. They lost out in the play-offs to Alloa, and I think that’s the closest they have been in the past few years.
“So it is a hard one to decide if it’s better to be a full-time or part-time side at this level.
“There is a lot of good, quality part-time players who don’t want to give up their jobs.
“You run the risk of losing two or three talented players when you go from part-time to full-time, and I think that’s what they are trying to avoid by going with this model.
“Airdrie will hope that the mix of part-time and full-time will work for us.
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“When I left for a season to go to Partick Thistle we had a mix of part-time and full-time players. Under John Lambie we won the old Second Division, so it worked for us.
“It’s about recruiting the right personnel to accommodate the training schedule and bringing the group together on their joint training days.”
Stewart went on: “Taking Ayr’s scenario, they have come on after winning League One and are now in a play-off spot.
“They didn’t find it as hard as some people might have thought. I think a big part of that has been recruitment and keeping the right squad together.
“At Ayr they kept the core together between the two campaigns and didn’t rip up the whole squad. That was a big thing for me.
“Airdrie will be looking to do the same: get out of League One and establish themselves in the Championship.
“When I was at Airdrie players stayed for a long time and there was a lot of experienced players. Nowadays it’s a lot of young players, which is great for Scottish football, but there is a huge turnaround every summer at most teams.”
Stewart was speaking ahead of the Pro Celebrity Charity Football Match at the Penny Cars Stadium on June 22.
Having taken part in the Advertiser All-Stars fundraising clash last year, Stewart is looking forward to pulling on the Airdrie kit once again.
“My time at Airdrie was the best of my career,” he continued.
“I spent 17 years at the club as a player and a manager, and my time under Alex MacDonald was unbelievable.
“The cup runs were just on another level. We had maybe one bad season but there was a great core that stayed at the club.
“I’ve got a great affinity for the club and the supporters. It’s always great for me to get back to Airdrie, to the ground, and pull on the Diamond and I’m delighted to be able to take part.”
