Hibs loanee says love of Airdrie is driving him as he looks to repay club for taking chance on him

Hibs loanee Murray Johnson insists his love for the Diamonds is driving him this season as he aims to get the club out of their sticky start to the campaign.

Airdrie suffered their third defeat in their last four Championship games on Saturday when they were blown away by league leaders Falkirk at New Broomfield. And but for some outstanding saves from Johnson, the 2-0 defeat could have been so much more.

The 19-year-old is at Airdrie for a second time after a loan spell from Easter Road two years ago and insists the club are so close to his heart after what they have done for him in his short career, he is determined to help them get back on track as they prepare to face Morton this weekend.

He said: “I’m here and want to do well for the team because it is a club that I love and that gave me a lot of respect and a chance when I was 17. And without them I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I’m just now.

“So first and foremost, I want this club to do well and be where I think they belong. And obviously personal performance and pride is another thing, but for me, genuinely, I want this club to do well and that’s my primary focus.

“It’s a tight league and it is early stages so we’ll look to go on Saturday and put a few wrongs right because we don’t think that was an acceptable level of performance against Falkirk.

“The manager is obviously disappointed and not happy with some parts of the performance, which is understandable. We need to make sure we go home and reflect on positives and negatives and then come in and reevaluate.

“It’s always disappointing after a defeat and in the changing room after the game, you’re not going to be happy. We all feel that hurt and we know we need to be better.”

For his parent club looking on,