Cade Melrose hopes to swap Newtown Park for Hampden on Wednesday night, but the young Diamond says it’s difficult to know what to expect from managerless Queen’s Park.

Goalkeeper Melrose spent the first half of the season on loan at Lowland League side Bo’ness United, and is now looking to add to his three first-team appearances for Airdrie when the Diamonds travel to the national stadium this week.

After been pitched in for a crunch relegation battle against Hamilton Academical – which saw him take the Man of the Match award after playing his part in a 2-1 win – Melrose has now faced the top two in Livingston and Falkirk, earning further plaudits for his impressive performances.

It’s been something of a baptism of fire for the 20-year-old, but one which he has grasped with both hands.

“You always need to be ready for that sort of thing as a keeper, so being number two, when you’re called upon you need to be ready to step into the team.

“I’ve loved every second of it, it’s good to get that first-team experience in the Championship. I’m only young, so I’ve got a lot to learn, but I’m really enjoying playing first-team football.”

Having faced the league’s in-form teams, the Diamonds now take on a Queen’s Park side who have struggled for results of late – a trend which saw the departure of manager Callum Davidson last month.

With Steven MacLean and ex-Diamond Sean Crighton in interim charge, the Spiders are looking to guarantee their own safety – and although they’ll be smarting from Sunday’s 5-0 SPFL Trust Trophy defeat to Livingston, Melrose says it’s all about the Diamonds.

“It’s almost a must-win game for us, but we just need to keep focussing on our own performances. You saw against Falkirk, we were brilliant – we just didn’t get the rub of the green. We’re looking forward to the rest of the season and I’m sure we’ll be okay.

“Queen’s Park haven’t gone through the greatest of times with the manager away, so you don’t know how they’re going to approach the game and how they’re going to come out.

“It’s almost walking in blind, but we know if we play our own game and do well, the game will take care of itself.”

The prospect of playing on the famous Hampden turf is an exciting one for Melrose, and although the youngster is brimming with confidence in his own ability, he remains humble as he learns his trade.

“It’s brilliant, from being on loan in January to playing at Hampden – it changed so quickly, but I’m loving every second of it.

“I know I’ve got a long way to go, I’m never going to be the finished article. Constantly learning, listening to Hutts, listening to Sinky, listening to the gaffer, it’s only going to improve my game.

“Even now that I’m playing, I’m still trying to learn, so listening to them is brilliant because I’ve got experienced people trying to tell me what to do in my game.”

And with results at the weekend going in Airdrie’s favour, a win at Hampden would see the Diamonds further close the gap at the bottom of the Championship table with an exciting run-in ahead.

“Whatever happens elsewhere in the league, we can’t control. One thing we can control is us on a Saturday, so we just need to try to keep that level of performance that we had against Falkirk and Livi, and keep building on it.

“It’s about getting that consistency, once you get that and go on a run of games playing well every week, we will pick up points – and it’s not a big gap any more. You don’t look at it and go ‘oh no!’”

Diamonds boss Rhys McCabe has been pleased with recent performances, and wants a repeat of February’s win over the Spiders.

“The last time we played them here, the performance was really good. A deserved three points, and the scoreline probably suggests that it was a closer game than what it was. Since then obviously Callum’s no longer the manager and the club’s in a different position.

“We’re now in a position where every game is huge and we’ve got to try to get maximum points, so we’re certainly going into the game away from home with the mindset that we’ve got to go and get three points.

“We’ve been in a good place since the turn of the year. Results and performances have been much more like the team that I know and I see on a daily basis, so we’ve just got to make sure that we go into the game like we did last Saturday – put in that level of performance and try to be a wee bit more ruthless.”

The Diamonds boss expects to be without three players for the trip to Mount Florida, with defender Cammy Bruce (knee) and striker Aaron Reid (hamstring) unlikely to be involved again this season. Lewis Strapp is expecting to return to action following a training-ground ankle knock, but Wednesday will likely come too soon for the full-back.

Referee Don Robertson has taken charge of one other fixture involving Airdrie this season, December’s last-gasp defeat at Hamilton.

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.

Fans are reminded that Hampden Park is a cashless stadium. No drums or musical instruments are permitted within the ground, and searches will be carried out. Away supporters are welcome in the public bar at the City Stadium before and after the match.