Airdrie take on managerless Partick Thistle on Saturday, and midfielder Rhys Armstrong says the Diamonds have to adopt a “must-win” attitude for every match.

The Jags parted company with boss Kris Doolan earlier this week following a below-par run of form, with striker Brian Graham and former Airdrie manager Mark Wilson taking interim charge of the Maryhill side.

Doolan’s last match in the hot-seat was a 3-0 defeat at Raith Rovers last weekend – meanwhile the Diamonds were drawing 2-2 with in-form Morton at Cappielow, and Armstrong feels his side deserved more ahead of Saturday’s trip to the Wyre Stadium.

“The performance is the big thing. I think we matched them on the physical side.

“After the game all the boys were disappointed that we didn’t come away with the three points, but it is what it is, and at least we take away a point.

“Training’s been good all week, we’ve prepared well. All the boys are back – we’ve got good numbers, so we’re going into it confident.”

Partick’s two wins over Airdrie this season – an incident-packed 2-1 victory in Maryhill in October and December’s 2-0 result at the Albert Bartlett – would suggest that Saturday’s match will be anything but easy, regardless of current form.

On top of past results and relative league positions, Armstrong believes the change at management level may lift the confidence of the Jags players.

“They might be up for it a wee bit more, because they don’t know who’s coming in or whatever, but I expect them to come out with the same line-up that they normally do.

“I think it’ll be a really tough game, especially down there, but we’re confident going into the game and hopefully we can pick up three points.”

Airdrie’s result against Morton made it three unbeaten in the Championship for the Diamonds, with victories over Dunfermline Athletic and Queen’s Park preceding the draw at Cappielow.

Following a nightmare first half of the season with the squad constantly beset by injuries, a turnaround in form seems to be going hand in hand with the return of a healthier roster.

Armstrong is delighted to see it.

“It’s massive, even in training – I think in the first couple of months we were training with ten or eleven bodies, which isn’t ideal.

“There’s competition for every position as well now, which is much better, so I think that’s why you’re seeing a boost in our performance.”

With momentum on their side, Rhys says he and his team-mates can’t allow levels to drop going into Saturday’s match.

“I think every game that we go into is a cup final. We need to keep this form up. As long as we work hard, and battle and do the dirty side, I think we’ll match them.

“We just need to look at it one game at a time, three points every weekend.

“I think if we just focus on the game that’s coming up, do our job there, and then we’ll move on. We don’t want to look at the bigger picture too much, just focus on the short-term goals.”

Manager Rhys McCabe is looking forward to pitting his wits against new opponents in the opposition dug-out.

“I know their run of form hasn’t been great, so I’d expect Brian will probably look for that ‘new manager bounce’ trying to get a reaction out of the players. It’s really important that we go and try to build on the performances that we’ve had in recent weeks.

“You can look at the form, but the table doesn’t lie – they’re still fourth. They’ve got good individuals and a good spine of experience that have been there and done it.

“Brian will be going in there with one thing on his mind, and that’s to set up a team to get a result against us, and we’ll need to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

The Diamonds boss was pleased to report an almost fully-fit squad, with only defender Aidan Wilson remaining on the sidelines as he continues to work toward a return. Striker Ricco Diack, who bagged his first Airdrie goal against Morton, also misses out due to rules prohibiting him from playing against his parent club.

Referee David Dickinson takes charge of his first Airdrie match this season. His last outing involving the Diamonds was the 0-0 home draw with Dundee United last April.

Match tickets are available using the link below, and our DiamondsTV video (subscribers outwith the UK and Ireland) and audio (pay-per-match worldwide) streams are available.