It’s top versus bottom once again as Airdrie travel to The Falkirk Stadium on Saturday, but defender Alex Bannon says the match holds no fear for the Diamonds as they scrap for survival.

When 21-year-old Bannon joined on loan from Burton Albion in February, Airdrie were nine points adrift at the foot of the Championship table. That gap has now been reduced to six, with seven games of the league campaign remaining.

The former Queen’s Park defender says he thrives under such difficult conditions.

“I think that’s why you grow up wanting to be a footballer, you want to put yourself in those high-pressure moments.

“The feeling on Saturday after a point – where we wanted to get three points – obviously you’re just in a mix of both emotions.

“We’re striving to keep getting that feeling of three points every Saturday, and that’s hopefully what’s going to keep us up.”

Saturday’s draw against Livingston came amid a difficult run of fixtures with Airdrie facing the top three in the space of the last three weeks, with another match against leaders Falkirk looming.

Substitute Liam McStravick grabbed the Diamonds’ late equaliser against the Lions, and Bannon says it points to Airdrie’s strength in depth since recovering from a quite horrendous injury crisis.

“Every single team-talk that the gaffer’s had has always been about how it’s not about the starters – it isn’t. It’s easy for players to say that if they aren’t in the starting XI, I know what it’s like being on the bench, it’s not the best feeling in the world – but they are the difference makers.

“That’s the biggest thing in football, having that set of fresh legs to come on and change the game. In something like seven of the last eight games we’ve had a goalscorer from the bench, and that’s a massive thing.”

An ever-present since his Diamonds debut, Bannon has quickly become part of the furniture at the Albert Bartlett, and the cultured centre-back says he’s enjoying his time at Airdrie.

“I’m loving every minute of it, it’s exactly what I asked for and more! Just enjoying football is such a massive thing, it’s very understated when you first come through academies and you can take it for granted.

“It’s selfish to say, but it’s also for my development. I want to keep Airdrie in the league, but I also want to develop myself to the highest and the best I can get to, so all these things are positive and it’s been great.”

Attentions now turn back to title-chasing Falkirk, who are looking to make it four out of four in the fixture after registering two 2-0 wins before grabbing a 3-0 victory in Airdrie two weeks ago.

Alex knows improvement is required if Airdrie are to take anything from the final meeting of the season, but insists the Diamonds have nothing to fear.

“We obviously played them not long ago, they’re a good footballing side. They know each other very well – they’re a team that have been together for a long time with the same manager, so it’s a lot of the same stuff that we’ve looked over previously.

“It’s a great challenge for us. It’ll be a good game and I know all the boys are excited and ready to go and try to close the gap even more.

“We’re not scared of any team. We’ll give them respect because they deserve to be top of the league, but we need to back ourselves – although we’re the opposite side of the table, we know that we can play the right football and break them down.”

Manager Rhys McCabe says that the Bairns’ title ambitions are of no concern to his side as they look to upset the odds and earn a potentially huge result.

“Falkirk are virtually there, it’s just a case for them of getting enough points and getting it over the line. They’ll be looking to make sure they don’t halt at any hurdle in the final few games.

“They’ll want to get it done as quickly as they can, which is totally understandable – but at the same time we’re fighting for survival, so we’ve got to make sure that we give the same level of effort and application that we did on Saturday, tighten up on certain wee bits, and look to go and get the three points.”

The Diamonds player-boss is again available for selection after serving a one-match suspension, though is without midfielder Liam McStravick who is on international duty with Northern Ireland’s Under-21s.

Striker Aaron Reid misses out after aggravating a hamstring injury early in last weekend’s match, while defender Lewis Strapp is a doubt following a training-ground knock.

Referee Euan Anderson is a familiar figure this season, having officiated both cup ties against Dundee, November’s home defeat to Hamilton, and the recent loss away to Ayr United.

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.