Airdrie legend recounts points omen leading up to League One crunch clash

Airdrie legend Sandy Stewart hopes it's an omen that his old side are on a 14-game unbeaten run - because his Diamonds side ate up Morton's 12-point lead to win the 2004 Second Division championship.

Stewart, who with long-term Airdrie associate Owen Coyle just won the Indian Super League Winners' shield with Jamshedpur in India, played for the Diamonds from 1989 to 2000, and again from 2001 to 2005 with Airdrie United, before managing them from 2002-06.

He still keeps in touch with people at the club and is delighted to see them continue to do well.

Airdrie go into a New Broomfield showdown against League One leaders Cove Rangers on Saturday, looking to eat up a five-point gap, and Stewart hopes things are stacking up in favour of his old club.

Stewart, 56, said: "I've been watching Airdrie. I still keep in touch with Anne-Marie Ballantyne, who is a director, and by all accounts - especially lately - they've had some sequence of results.

"That must have been about 14 games unbeaten, and it doesn't matter what league you're in, in any league that's a fantastic effort.

"They're in a good position just now, they're five points behind going into the game, and they have a perfect opportunity to close the gap, and anything can happen.

"It was something similar to a run that we went on when I was the manager.

"From the turn of the year we had gone so many games unbeaten, and we were something like 12 points behind Morton, and all of a sudden we were able to turn that around, and won that in the second-last game of the season, so it's something similar.

"It's a club that means a lot to me. I played for them, I was the manager there, my son [Scott] played there for a number of years.

"They will always be close to my heart and