The 5′9″, 11.4 stone midfielder joins Airdrie after being released by Greenock Morton at the end of last season. The 24-year old previously played for Livingston and Hamilton Accies.

Scott is described as a battling, ball-winning midfielder who is not afraid to try his hand from distance. He is a welcome addition to the Diamonds side and is likely to feature against Kilmarnock on Saturday.

Random Posts

• January 12, 2008 -- Airdrie draw Celtic in Scottish Cup
• January 25, 2008 -- Alloa Athletic v Airdrie United Match Preview
• May 8, 2008 -- Airdrie United 0 - 1 Clyde
• April 30, 2008 -- Raith Rovers vs Airdrie United Match Preview

The Scottish Cup runners-up from Dumfries have struck an agreement with Diamonds chairman Jim Ballantyne to play the Uefa Cup second qualifying round match at the ground.

A Uefa official flew into Scotland last week to check on Queen’s infrastructure for hosting such a match and Queens chairman David Rae has confirmed they will play their first ever European tie at the 10,000 seater Excelsior Stadium. Rae said: “We are going to use Airdrie’s ground to play our European game. A Uefa rep was over from Holland and he said there cannot be any standing at these games.

“With that in mind, we would only be able to accommodate around 2,800 fans at Palmerston Park and that would not be fair on the fans.

“Airdrie holds just over 10,000 and it fits all the criteria.”

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It is unclear if manager Kenny Black wanted to keep Ricky, who previously played for Falkirk, Ayr United and Partick Thistle as well as having a spell in Hong Kong. Although he lacked the quality to be a first choice left winger for us, he did prove himself very capable at full-back and would have been likely to fill our left back spot as Paul Lovering moves into coaching this season.

Waddell will be joined on the Clyde left wing by ex-Diamond Willie McLaren, who signed a one-year deal with the Broadwood outfit after being released by St Johnstone in January.

Airdrie currently have three signed players, having signed up Kevin Watt, Mark Smyth and Kevin McDonald.

We are today being linked with ballwinning midfielder Scott McLaughlin, who has been released by Morton.

Related News

• June 2, 2008 -- New deals for K-Mac and Mark Smyth
• May 20, 2008 -- Prunty / Holmes leave Airdrie United
• May 15, 2008 -- Holmes set for Pars switch
• May 13, 2008 -- Airdrie United End of Season Review

Airdrie have not confirmed the length of the deals, but we do expect an announcement to be made shortly. It has been announced that McDonald had agreed to resign even before the decision was made that Airdrie will be playing in the First Division next season.

After a difficult first season at New Broomfield, Smyth developed into a key performer for us by the end of last season and is tipped by many to captain the club next season. His performance in the two playoff matches against Raith was outstanding and he has certainly started to justify former boss Sandy Stewart’s relentless interest in him.

McDonald is a well known favourite of manager Kenny Black and has been a key performer on a consistent basis for Airdrie over the past two years.

Well done to the club for securing the futures of both players.

Related News

• June 3, 2008 -- Ricky Waddell signs for Clyde
• May 20, 2008 -- Prunty / Holmes leave Airdrie United
• May 15, 2008 -- Holmes set for Pars switch
• May 13, 2008 -- Airdrie United End of Season Review

Holmes departure has been rumoured for the past week and it has now been confirmed that he has signed a two-year deal with First Division Dunfermline. Pars manager Jim McIntyre played with Holmes at Dundee United and has swooped to sign the midfielder who has suffered an injury plagued season.

Also on the move is Bryan Prunty, who has become the latest Diamond to join Ayr United. Again, this move is not surprising as Bryan’s release was inevitable after contributing next to nothing in two seasons. Despite making a great start to his Airdrie United career, finishing joint top scorer alongside Jason Scotland in the First Division three years ago, he has suffered from injuries and loss of form and badly needed a change of scenery to kickstart a career that has slipped further and further down the divisions as time wears on.

Decisions on the futures of Airdrie’s other out-of-contract players (which is everyone except Kevin Watt) are expected soon although naturally we are in a state of limbo with regards Gretna’s situation.

In other news, Paul Lovering has reportedly been offered the assistant managers job however this is unconfirmed speculation at this stage, however it is likely he will be made an offer to remain with the club in some sort of coaching capacity at least.

Related News

• June 3, 2008 -- Ricky Waddell signs for Clyde
• June 2, 2008 -- New deals for K-Mac and Mark Smyth
• May 15, 2008 -- Holmes set for Pars switch
• May 13, 2008 -- Airdrie United End of Season Review

Holmes made a big impact since returning to the team in recent weeks and his absence through injury for a large part of the season was a major blow for us as without him, we lacked creativity in midfield.

He is very much a midfielder who likes to get the ball down and play football and when played in the right position high up the park, he creates many chances and was certainly one of our better players.

Although at the moment the story cannot be confirmed, I would suggest it is highly unlikely he will be with Airdrie next season and wouldn’t be surprised if he has followed Allan Russell out the exit door.

Related News

• June 3, 2008 -- Ricky Waddell signs for Clyde
• June 2, 2008 -- New deals for K-Mac and Mark Smyth
• May 20, 2008 -- Prunty / Holmes leave Airdrie United
• May 13, 2008 -- Airdrie United End of Season Review

Allan Russell and Marco Andreoni will be heading to the SPL so they are discounted. What’s clear is that regardless of what division we are in, we do need a goalscorer to replace the huge gap that Russell will create. We also need some dig in midfield and some creativity on the wings if we are going to succeed. So who should stay and who should go?

Stephen Robertson: has been one of our most consistent performs this season, has earned us a lot of points and made few errors. Verdict: STAY
Lee Hollis: not been given a chance, relatively low cost number 2 and performed well at Ayr. STAY

Darren Smith: cost us the play-off final and not done enough this season to justify his place. GO

Paul Lovering: would be caught out in Division 1, but could do us a turn in Division 2. One of two few players who plays for the Diamond. WAIT AND SEE

Mark Smyth: really coming onto a game, might be difficult to hold onto him but if we can he should be captain. STAY

Bobby Donnelly: still got a bit to learn, but is the ball winning centre back we have been missing STAY

Ricky Waddell: would do a job in the second as a left back, but probably depends on what happens with Lovers. WAIT AND SEE

Graeme Holmes: have a feeling he might get snapped up elsewhere, but would like to keep him STAY

Kevin McDonald: as with Homer, we should try and keep him but he is on the radar of other clubs STAY

Steven McKenna: one of our better performers with versatility as a bonus STAY

Steven Campbell: has looked good from what I’ve seen so far, would be tempted to keep him STAY

Steven McDougall: really needs to make an impact next season. Without him, we badly lack creativity. STAY

Bryan Prunty: just not happening unfortunately, needs a fresh start. GO

Stuart Noble: some weeks I love him, others I’m not sure. Has a decent goal return, but I wouldn’t be comfortable with him leading the line. WAIT AND SEE

Kevin Watt: already under contract, has plenty potential KEEP

David Gillies: has potential, but will he show it? WAIT AND SEE

Kenny Black:  I’ve not been a Kenny fan - he was far too stubborn at the start of the season which cost us promotion. Has impressed me much more in recent weeks and I’d love to see him turn it round. I’d give him a few months of the new season but if we’re not performing we’d need to change.

Related News

• June 3, 2008 -- Ricky Waddell signs for Clyde
• June 2, 2008 -- New deals for K-Mac and Mark Smyth
• May 20, 2008 -- Prunty / Holmes leave Airdrie United
• May 15, 2008 -- Holmes set for Pars switch

Despite the radio report of the game which made it sound as though Clyde controlled possession while we frantically chased the game, Airdrie came out the traps well and used controlled the play in the first half. Stuart Noble was put back up top with Allan Russell and the two of them were causing problems for the Clyde defence, with Russell in particular having a much better game than in recent weeks.

In midfield, Marco Andreoni was giving his best performance in an Airdrie jersey with box to box running and was displaying some nice touches and passing. We were forcing a number of corners and free kicks in good areas, but as always the delivery wasn’t putting Clyde under any real pressure. Clyde had a few good chances with Robbo saving well from Pat Clarke, but Airdrie had a massive blow when Mark Smyth was forced off after a nasty head knock which left him visibly dazed. Darren Smith replaced him, with Steven Campbell moving alongside Lovers at centre back.

The best chance of the half fell to Russell - the big man did brilliantly to create the chance for himself but Hutton got out well to block at his feet and the teams were into the interval level. Backed on by a large travelling support, I fully expected Airdrie to come out and win the game. Sadly, that didn’t materalise as a long punt up the park was misjudged by Campbell and Gary McSwegan nipped into score.

From there it was an uphill battle, not helped by referee John Underhill’s refusal to give a stonewall penalty when Bryan Prunty was fouled in the box just after the goal.

Clyde made it two-nil with a superb overhead kick by Clarke although the goal did come about because Lovers was out of position as a result of having a knock and our defence was a bit at sea. Fair play to the boy though, it was a great finish.

The second goal was a killer and the ref could just have blown the whistle as the game was finished. Credit to Airdrie though as they did make a real go of it today and if we’d scored in the first half I think we’d have gone on to win the game. Fair play also to Clyde - as a team they are distinctly average, but they did what they had to do which is more than we did last year and well done for staying in the division.

For Airdrie, manager Kenny Black now has to regroup and rebuild in the summer - replacing Allan Russell is his first task but we also need some creativity in midfield and also a bit more dig and bite.

Related News

• June 3, 2008 -- Ricky Waddell signs for Clyde
• June 2, 2008 -- New deals for K-Mac and Mark Smyth
• May 20, 2008 -- Prunty / Holmes leave Airdrie United
• May 15, 2008 -- Holmes set for Pars switch

Airdrie suffered an early blow when Saturday’s goal hero and man of the match Bobby Donnelly hobbled off to be replaced by Ricky Waddell, who filled in at left back with Paul Lovering moving into central defence. The most notable thing about the game for me was how well Clyde pressed us with Marvyn Wilson leading the midfield battle and ensuring that Graeme Holmes and Kevin McDonald did not get the same time and freedom on the ball as they have been used to in recent weeks.

As a result of that, coupled with a real lack of pace on the wings, we were unable to play our normal passing game and were therefore restricted to long balls forward to Allan Russell who was getting little change out of a well organized and strong Clyde defence. Consequently, although we had a lot of the ball, we didn’t really do anything with it and you never really felt that we were going to score.

In saying that, I didn’t feel Clyde would score either and it was only from an individual mistake from Darren Smith that led to their goal. Although I do think the boy tries hard, his positioning is woeful and only poor finishing from Second Division quality players has saved him from costing more goals for us this season. At this level of football, the ball should not be allowed to travel 60 yards from a dead ball with a fullback out of position. He was and it cost us.

In saying that we are by no means out of the tie. Ultimately, we are going to Broadwood not Stamford Bridge and we are more than capable of winning against a very average side who less than a week ago were 3-1 down at home to Alloa.

In my opinion, we are more suited to playing away from home and with a big support behind us and an attacking philosophy, I am more than confident that we can win. Any thoughts of a get-out clause with Gretna going bust should be firmly banished as we have the chance to do the job on the park and even if we do go up that way, we would first have around a month of uncertainty waiting for a decision which would hamper our attempts at survival next season.

On the park, Kenny Black must be tempted to push Stuart Noble back upfront as he has struggled on the left wing but offers a more physical approach than Bryan Prunty, who just isn’t performing anymore. Bryan just seems to always be a half yard away from the ball and things just aren’t happening for him. The problem with moving Noble upfront is who plays on the left wing as Paul Lovering may be forced into centre half once more leaving Waddell to fill in at left back.

We are by no means out this tie. Lets get every Airdrie fan to Broadwood on Saturday and get right behind the team. WE CAN DO THIS!

Related News

• June 3, 2008 -- Ricky Waddell signs for Clyde
• June 2, 2008 -- New deals for K-Mac and Mark Smyth
• May 20, 2008 -- Prunty / Holmes leave Airdrie United
• May 15, 2008 -- Holmes set for Pars switch

Of course, today’s match was potentially a final given that both playoff finalists will play in Division One next season if, as looks inevitable, Grenta go out of business.

Airdrie came into the game looking to protect a two goal advantage established in Kirkcaldy on Wednesday night and were ahead inside ten minutes when Bryan Prunty poked home after some nice linkup play between Graeme Holmes and Allan Russell. Job done it appeared, but Raith hit back inside ten minutes after Marco Andreoni handled while blocking a freekick and Graeme Weir sent Stephen Robertson the wrong way from the penalty spot.

Airdrie didn’t really settle and were again wasteful in possession but in truth, Raith never really looked like scoring and we were fairly comfortable. Our two centre halves were once again excellent and e did appear to be reasonably comfortable as our two goal advantage remained intact at half time.

As expected, we were under the cosh at the start of the second half - more so in terms of possession than clear cut chances - but Raith should have scored from a free header at the backpost 10 minutes into the second half which could have changed the outcome of the game.

The introduction of Kevin Watt and Ricky Waddell for Stuart Noble and Prunty turned things in our favour, however and we were soon back in front after MORE horrible Raith defending led to a Bobby Donnelly clean through and he fired home to send us into the final. Raith did pull one back through a hugely deflected Weir shot but in truth, it was too little too late from a team who lacked any real imagination going forward over the two legs and were a shambles (and I cannot stress that enough) defensively.

Player Ratings:

Robertson - dealt with what was thrown at him, no chance with either goals (6/10)

Smith - a few scary moments, but decent display (6/10)

Lovering - much better than on Wednesday, wasn’t troubled defensively and led by example (7/10)

Donnelly - won everything in the air against Andy Tod and took his goal well (8/10)

Smyth - excellent display again from a future captain who looks much more comfortable at centre half than right back (8/10)

Andreoni - definitely coming onto a game at right mid, used the ball well (7/10)

Holmes - what a difference his return to the team has made, gets the ball down and gets us playing football (7/10)

McDonald - strong in the tackle and worked exceptionally hard as always (7/10)

Noble - didn’t really happen for him again although he worked hard defensively (6/10)

Russell - never really got going and looked a little too eager to be the one who scored the goals (6/10)

Prunty - took his goal well and put in a great shift, much improved performance (7/10)

Watt - looked very lively when he came on with some great runs and was unlucky not to score (7/10)

Waddell - helped shore things up on the left hand side (6/10)

Man of the Match: Bobby Donnelly

Related News

• June 3, 2008 -- Ricky Waddell signs for Clyde
• June 2, 2008 -- New deals for K-Mac and Mark Smyth
• May 20, 2008 -- Prunty / Holmes leave Airdrie United
• May 15, 2008 -- Holmes set for Pars switch