Conor McLaughlin says the disappointment at losing a two-goal lead to Queen's Park will be Airdrie's motivation at Hampden on Saturday.

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The Diamonds return to the national stadium this weekend for the Ladbrokes League One curtain-raiser, having won on penalties following a 3-3 draw in the Betfred Cup only ten days ago.

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McLaughlin had a part to play in two of the goals, and the attacking midfielder is pleased with his introduction to the first team.

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"It's a big achievement for me, it's a goal that I was aiming for at the start of the season.

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"Now that I've got there I need to keep working hard to keep myself involved with the team."

The 19-year-old playmaker is the son of former Celtic winger Brian McLaughlin, who was part of the side which won the Scottish Cup in 1995 - beating Airdrie in the final.

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Conor has shown glimpses of the trickery and fancy footwork that his father was known for - and is certainly not short of confidence, scoring a cheeky "Panenka" penalty in the Betfred Cup shoot-out.

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"Personally I think I've still got more to show. As for the team, I think we've played well in spells. At other times we've been slack, but I'm sure we'll get there once we sort all the wee negatives out."

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Those negatives were evident in the second half at Hampden as the Diamonds gave away a 3-1 lead to draw the match.

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Conor says he and his team-mates are spurred on by that.

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"It was a big disappointment to throw away the lead after playing so well in the first half. We need to remain focussed and go again this Saturday.

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"It's a motivation, big-time. We'll take it on board and hopefully we can progress and beat them by playing the way we did in the first half."

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First team coach Kevin McBride is in agreement.

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"We know what we're coming up against having played them a couple of weeks ago.

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"We didn't defend as a team particularly well, but we're going to be ready for it and try to cut out the mistakes that we made."

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Ryan Conroy and Kieran MacDonald are both struggling to be fit for the match, and will be given late checks.

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Former Arsenal man Daniel Boateng has agreed terms with the club, but is awaiting international clearance before his contract can be confirmed.

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Referee David Lowe takes charge of the league season opener at Hampden.