Airdrie picked up their first points of the season on Saturday, and Sean Crighton says the Diamonds are now ready for Rangers.

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The 25-year-old played his part in a hard-fought win at Brechin City, defending manfully as Airdrie saw out the game with ten men following Caolan McAleer's red card.

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Now with the League Cup Round 2 tie against Rangers looming, Crighton recognises the importance of the victory.

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"It was very important to get our first win, you don't want to be chasing this early in the year."

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"We have been unfortunate not to win the last 2 games but we know ourselves we didn't perform as well as we could have, so this game was huge for us to get points on the board."

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Hosts Brechin had also had an underwhelming start to the season, and were depleted by injuries and suspensions. Crighton expects tomorrow's visitors to New Broomfield to be a different prospect. 

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"Rangers have looked very decent and we all know what good players they have so we know its going to be a difficult night, but at the end of the day its a game of football and you never know what could happen.

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"If we stay organised and do our jobs I think we will do well enough to compete with them."

 

A packed stadium will watch Airdrie take on Mark Warburton's new-look Rangers side, with the in-form championship side firm favourites with the bookmakers.

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Ex-Morton man Sean might expect to have his hands full with his defensive duties, but with two goals already under his belt will he be looking to get on the scoresheet?

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"Scoring goals is just an extra for me personally, I would rather we kept clean sheets and got the 3 points - or in this case get through to the next round.

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"Of course if we get a corner I'll be looking to be on the end of it, so you never know!"

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Jim Lister and Marc Fitzpatrick remain sidelined for the hosts, with manager Gary Bollan unwilling to put a timeframe on either's return.

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Rangers boss Warburton this week stressed the importance of the League Cup, although the Ibrox manager has hinted at changes to his lineup with Arsenal kid Gedion Zelalem joining on loan.

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One player who won't be involved is last season's Rangers Player of the Year Darren McGregor, who has left the club by mutual consent.

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Euan Anderson is the man in charge of the Round Two tie.