East Fife head to the Excelsior Stadium aiming to extend their impressive winning streak but Barry Smith is expecting another tough game tomorrow. Speaking earlier today the Bayview boss looked ahead to the clash.

"Airdrie might have had a couple of disappointing results in recent weeks but that does not make them a bad team, as their league position shows. They are also a full-time side so we can expect a difficult game."

Smith also spoke of new signing Nicky Paterson.

"We are delighted to bring Nicky in, he will strengthen the midfield, and his experience will help what is still quite a young side, both on the park and in the dressing room."

The Manager was also keen to take a positive outlook following the departure of defender Scott Mercer, who joined Championship outfit Queen of the South yesterday.

"We are obviously disappointed to lose Scott but the club should be proud that we have given a young player the opportunity to improve his game and progress to full-time football."

Smith also reported that the injury situation remains unchanged from last week with Ryan Goodfellow, Kyle Wilkie and Tony Wallace all sidelined.

Tomorrow's game will be third meeting between the sides this season. A 1-1 draw at the Excelsior Stadium in September was followed by a 1-0 Airdrieonians victory at Bayview six weeks later.