Airdrieonians v Morton preview
13th March 2015
John Boyle is keen to get back in first team contention - by firing Airdrie towards the play-offs.
The Club captain has mostly featured from the bench this season, but his contribution as a hold-up striker was instrumental in taking the pressure off the Diamonds defence as Ayr United rallied in the dying stages of Tuesday night's vital showdown.
Airdrie recorded a narrow 1-0 victory on the night, and Boyle is quick to point out the importance of the win.
"The result against Ayr was massive, because we need to keep the run going to push for the play-off places."
Marc Fitzpatrick scored the only goal of the game, and the Diamonds face the midfielder's last club, Morton, on Saturday.
The Greenock side have the upper hand over the teams' five meetings so far this season - winning twice in the league and once in a Scottish Cup replay after the first tie finished goalless.
However, Airdrie were victorious the last time the sides met, a Jim Lister strike securing the points at Cappielow in January.
Jim Duffy's men have gone on to top the League One table since then, but they hold no fear for Boyle.
"Of course we can beat Morton - we're more than a match for any team in the league."
Confidence is clearly high in Gary Bollan's squad, and rightly so - Tuesday's win at Somerset made it eight games unbeaten for the Diamonds.
An important factor in that run has been the form of strikers Jim Lister and Bryan Prunty - form which has meant Boyle and others have had to bide their time on the substitutes bench.
"It's been tough not playing as much as I would have liked.
"Hopefully I can get a chance in the next few weeks to show what I can do."
Strength in depth will be important as Airdrie aim to continue their good form and push towards a top-four finish, but with several teams aiming for the play-off spots, results elsewhere are important. John insists the Diamonds squad can only worry about themselves.
"We're taking it one game at a time and concentrating on us and only us".
With the next of those games coming against the league-leaders and bookies' favourites, Airdrie will have to dig deep to continue their unbeaten streak.