Airdrie skipper Adam Frizzell insists Rhys McCabe’s recent success as a manager is no fluke and backs his gaffer to turn their dismal start to the Championship around.
Rock-bottom Diamonds welcome ninth-place Dunfermline today hoping to avoid a fourth straight league defeat and desperately in need of a morale-boosting win.
McCabe has tasted victory just once in seven games so far this term, having guided the team to the play-offs and winning the SPFL Trust Trophy last season, which came off the back of promotion from League One in his maiden campaign in charge.
The gaffer is now facing his toughest test yet with Airdrie struggling for form, but Frizzell insists the Diamonds will come good.
He said: “I know it is a very young team, but I don’t think a lot of the young boys realise how good an environment this is to come and play football under the manager.
“I wish I had this opportunity when I was 18 years-old – a manager who has every faith in you, who wants you to play football.
“He is not going to go through you for making a mistake when you are building out from the back.
“If you look at the success the gaffer has had in his first two seasons, it is no fluke.
“We’ve just had a run of bad games and we’ve not had the rub of the green, but it will turn, I’m confident of that.
“Dunfermline are in a similar situation to us. They are in a bit of a rut as well.
“I’ve played them several times and I’ve never had an easy game. They’ll be resolute and they have plenty of good players going forward.
“But we’ll fancy ourselves to win it being at home and I’m confident we’ll get the three points.
“It’s definitely a game we need to win. We need to start getting points on the board.”
Frizzell is buoyed by last week’s display at Livingston, despite Airdrie losing out 2-1 thanks to a stoppage-time stunner from Andrew Shinnie to snatch all three points.
And he hopes they take the best parts of that showing into the Pars clash.
He added: “If we had walked out of there with a point, it would have been a very good point.
“We were the better team in the first half and missed a couple of chances. Livingston edged it in the second half, but having said that we had two or three good chances ourselves.
“We need to take the positives. It was a good performance against a team that people think will be up there.
“We want to try and replicate that performance this Saturday and, hopefully, the three points will start coming.”
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