Airdrie performed above expectations this season as they finished second in the league and then worked their way to the playoff final, where they were ultimately outclassed by Morton.
They had put together what looked like a disparate squad of players, the likes of Griffin Sabatini, who had been pulled from Ukrainian football on loan, and Thomas Robert, who arrived from French football. Despite the ragtag bunch of players that were brought together, there were some success stories, with Robert particularly impressive in the first part of the season, so much so that he would train with Celtic in the January transfer period.
If there were impressive individual displays early in the season for Airdrie, as a team they were rather inconsistent. Indeed, there was even a suggestion that manager Iain Murray may not see the season out. When they played Falkirk on Boxing Day, they were sixth in the table and looked likelier to be in relegation trouble than challenging for promotion.
That 1-0 win was something of a turning point, although it was not until after the lengthy shutdown that Airdrie found their best level, having restructured thanks to the arrival of several players on loan.
Nevertheless, it took them some time to get going, with three successive defeats again plunging them into the lower part of the table. Only a strong finish to the regular season, culminating in a 2-0 success in a must-win match against East Fife, dragged them to the top four.
Their improvement coincided with a move away from their 4-2-3-1 formation into a 3-5-2, and it would be in this shape that they would persist for the remainder of the campaign, which meant that Robert was cast aside. Instead, new heroes emerged, with Kyle Connell impressive after arriving from Kilmarnock on loan.
Airdrie gathered momentum and stormed into the playoffs, deservedly beating Cove Rangers but coming up short against Morton, with the Greenock side too easily able to nullify them.
Dale Carrick and Calum Gallagher both had strong seasons for Airdrie but, until they moved into a 3-5-2, there was a lack of consistency to their play, which was caused by a lack of attacking threat in terms of goals and creativity from midfield. They must find a way to cure this ahead of next term if they are to fare better.
