Airdrie No.2 urges Diamonds 'ruthless' streak in 'cup final' Championship battles

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Airdrie No.2 Callum Fordyce says every game in the Championship is like a cup final, and the key to success is being ruthless in both boxes.Fordyce expects a battle when eighth-placed Ayr United visit New Broomfield on Saturday, but says there will also be plenty of quality on show from both sides.But he says the Diamonds have to maintain their excellent home record and play their own style when Lee Bullen’s side come calling.He said: “There’s not a bad team in the Championship, so every game is like a cup final, so you want to pick up as many wins as you can.“In amongst the changing room we know ourselves that the Championship is a wee bit more ruthless – that’s no disrespect to League One, there are lots of good teams and players there.“It’s just that standard – every higher level you go up it’s the ruthlessness in both boxes that can define games, more.“If you play against a Premiership side you see the ruthlessness – look at Ross County in the cup, they had three or four chances and took the four of them.“It’s the ruthlessness in both boxes, that’s the biggest thing I’ve noticed.“I’ve played in the Championship for the majority of my career and that was probably the thing – it’s that consistency and ruthlessness in both boxes that can define moments in the game.”Ayr sit six points below an Airdrie side that could go third in the table with a win, depending on results elsewhere, and Fordyce expects a tough encounter.“Lee Bullen has done a great job since he has been in,” said Fordyce. “They were very unfortunate not to get promoted last season, they went so far and lost out on the final day of the season.