Striker David Cox is looking forward to kicking off his Airdrie career against former club Annan Athletic as the Diamonds head to Galabank on Petrofac Cup duty. 

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Cox arrived at New Broomfield from Peterhead in the summer, but the 26-year-old forward made 93 appearances for the Galabankies between 2009 and 2012. 

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"I'm looking forward to playing them", he told us. 

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"It's a club I spent a long time at, and I get on great with everyone down there so it will be good to visit again. 

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"I scored the last time I played against them, so hopefully I can do the same again and we can come away with a win!" 

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Getting out of League One may be the priority for clubs at this level, but Cox feels that the early rounds of the cup can be a springboard to league form. 

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"I think it's very important to get a good start to the season. 

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"Getting a few wins under our belt and just kicking on from there would be great." 

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Cox is one of seven completely new faces at the club, with Caolan McAleer returning after an earlier loan spell, and work going on behind the scenes to add another player to the squad.

 

Manager Gary Bollan has declared himself pleased with the competition for places in his squad, and fans will be eager to see how the new-look side shape up ahead of the league kick-off. 

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Opponents Annan Athletic are managed by former Albion Rovers boss Jim Chapman, and recently recruited Jamie Watson from Airdrie's title-winning U20 development squad. 

As the New Broomfield men prepare to head south for the season's curtain-raiser, new recruit Cox feels that the Diamonds are in good shape. 

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"We have had a really tough pre-season in terms of training and I think we have done not too bad in some of the games we have played. 

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"Hopefully we do well this season - and I believe we will as we have a good squad of players."