Airdrie's final standing in table won't affect promotion chances, insists Fordyce

Airdrie assistant boss Callum Fordyce insists it makes no difference to their promotion hopes if they end up third or fourth in the final standings in League One.

The Diamonds drew 1-1 with champions Dunfermline last Saturday to ensure a top four finish and book their place in the play-offs with two games to spare. They sit third in the table but could still be pipped to that position by fourth place Alloa.

Whoever finishes third has the arguably easier play-off semi-final tie as they will face league rivals Falkirk, while the fourth-place side play the team from the league above.

But Fordyce says last season’s painful play-off experience, where they lost to Queen’s Park in the final, tells him their final standing won’t make a difference.

He said: “We’ve secured the play-off place now and when we knew we couldn’t catch Dunfermline, that was always the objective.

“In the four years I’ve been at the club, that’s four times we’ve secured the play-off, so that’s a great credit to the boys.

“For me, it doesn’t matter if we finish third or fourth now. I don’t look at one team as any less difficult than the other.

“We found that out last season when we finished 21 points ahead of Queen’s Park and they went and beat us in the play-off final.

"So where we actually finish now, it doesn’t really matter, to be honest.

“We would have liked to have finished second but we can’t do that now so it’s about trying to finish as high up the table as we can.

"We’ve got two games to make sure we finish third so we go into the play-offs with momentum.”

The Diamonds host Queen of the South today in their final home league game this season and Fordyce expects another tough test after they lost 3-2 to the Doonhamers at Palmerston last month.

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