Liam McStravick is putting his injury nightmare behind him with impressive comebacks for Airdrie and Northern Ireland – and the midfield ace wants to take another step toward survival with a win over Livingston.

A bittersweet SPFL Trust Trophy final a year ago saw McStravick grab a stunning equaliser which set the Diamonds on their way to a 2-1 win over The New Saints, though he would later hobble off with a cruciate ligament injury which would see him sidelined for ten months.

Following a gradual reintroduction from the bench, the midfield dynamo is now back starting games, and hopes to continue that against Livingston on Saturday after last weekend’s 2-1 home win over Hamilton Academical.

“All the boys are looking forward to it. We’ve been doing well recently, apart from obviously the Ayr and Falkirk games.

“They’re done and dusted, so we’ll just focus on winning games now with a big eight games to go. The boys are buzzing in there after the win on Saturday.”

With Airdrie scrapping to get off the bottom as the business end of the season gets underway, David Martindale’s Livingston are fighting at the other end of the table.

The Lions currently occupy third spot, just six points behind leaders Falkirk, and McStravick is keen to take on a difficult challenge on Saturday.

“I look forward to every game. Livi are a good side, so we’ll be expecting a tough game.

“It’s our home pitch, our home fans, so they have to come here and get a result – but also we have to get a result so it’ll be a good game with two teams going at it.”

Saturday sees the fourth and final meeting of the sides this season, with Livingston maintaining a perfect record so far, although the matches have typically been tight affairs.

Andrew Shinnie’s stoppage-time screamer handed the West Lothian side a win in September after Stephen Kelly and Aaron Reid had traded first-half goals.

The Lions were 3-0 winners at The Albert Bartlett Stadium in December, a result which didn’t fairly reflect a match in which Airdrie passed up a host of chances before Stevie May opened the scoring. Matthew Clarke and May again added gloss to the scoreline with second-half finishes.

Less than a month later the sides were back at the Home of the Set Fare Arena, with the 2-1 scoreline repeated as Livingston secured the win via Robbie Fraser and a debut own-goal from Lewis Strapp either side of Chris Mochrie’s leveller.

McStravick had to watch those matches from the sidelines as he continued his ACL rehabilitation, and he’s looking forward to the chance to face the Lions after his recent comeback – with a Northern Ireland U21 call-up the icing on the cake.

“It’s the best feeling in the world, to be honest. I was out injured for so long, and I was itching at the bit to get back. I’ve done all the hard work and thankfully I’m back now. I’ll be honest, I’ll never take a football game or a training session for granted again.

“It’s good to get called back up to the international set-up so quickly after being out, so I’m looking forward to that.”

“I feel I’m getting my touch back, my confidence. There’s still more to come, obviously, but I’m feeling sharper and fitter with every game, so I can’t wait for Saturday.”

And with Liam helping the Diamonds get the fourth quarter of the Championship campaign off to a winning start, his objective is clear.

“Stay up. It’s as simple as that. We’re confident, we’re winning games now – we’re winning big games as well.

“They’re exciting games, they’re actually good games because there’s pressure on us. All the boys love a bit of pressure because you have to go and perform in pressure. It’s eight cup finals.”

Manager Rhys McCabe expects a difficult match against Livingston, who exited the Scottish Cup on Monday to a late St Johnstone wonder-strike despite performing well.

“Livingston will be hurting after that, and they’ll be looking to get back to their league form so we’re expecting a tough one.

“We’ve got to make sure we’re ready for what’s in store and what’s at stake. There’s going to be twists and turns and bumps and bruises.

“We know ourselves, as a group and a club, our collective target that we think is achievable to catch the two in front of us. We’ve just got to go in with that mindset where we’ve got no fear, we’ve got to go and attack games and get three points. It probably sets us up for a good one on Saturday.”

The Diamonds player-boss is suspended for the fixture, having been shown a straight red card for comments made to an official deep into stoppage-time during Saturday’s win over Hamilton Academical. There are no other imminent selection concerns.

Referee Matthew MacDermid was previously in charge of December’s 2-2 home draw with Greenock Morton.

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