Cammy Russell was delighted with his debut double, and hopes there is more to come against Livingston.

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The teen striker grabbed a brace against Stranraer on his competitive bow after netting three times against Gala Fairydean and Clyde in pre-season.

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Russell (19) was pleased with how the Diamonds' season opener went.

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"I was happy with it, to be fair! I didn't know I was starting until the day of the game, so it was great to be involved and get the win.

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"Personally I always find it's helpful to have a good pre-season. If I don't then I tend to struggle throughout the season with injuries, so it was good to hit the ground running and get a couple of early goals."

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Andy Ryan was also on the scoresheet as Airdrie notched up a 3-1 Group H win over the Blues, and Russell believes it was an important performance against a League One rival.

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"It was a good game to judge where we're at and I thought we did quite well.

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"We took our chances, and if we do that throughout the season we'll be alright."

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Livingston top Group H having beaten St Mirren in midweek. The newly-promoted Championship side drew 1-1 with Partick Thistle last weekend, taking the "bonus" point with a penalty shoot-out win.

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Russell sees no reason why Airdrie can't repeat Tuesday's feat when they visit the Tony Macaroni Arena on Saturday.

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"I think we've got a chance of getting something.

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"If we can put away our chances like we did against Stranraer and catch them on the break once or twice, I'm sure we'll get a goal or two."

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Cammy has every right to be confident after an impressive pre-season and a man-of-the-match winning debut performance, but has he set himself any targets for the forthcoming season?

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"I just want to play as much as I can. A couple more goals would be nice too!"

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Diamonds coach Donald Jennow led the team to their midweek victory, and he was impressed by Russell.

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"What a debut - he did very, very well. He's a professional lad, he looks after himself and he's keen to learn and he went into that environment and coped with it brilliantly.

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"We shouldn't overlook the work that he and Chucky did as a partnership either, the way they worked together was pleasing."

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Looking ahead to Saturday's tie, Jennow expects a difficult challenge.

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"It's going to be really tough - I watched Livingston against Partick Thistle and I thought they were excellent.

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"We're looking forward to it, and the boys can take a lot of confidence from the Stranraer game."

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Mike Roncone is the referee for the visit to West Lothian