Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
New recruit Nat isn’t playing strain game
MARK PIRIE
Airdrieonians new boy Nat Wedderburn reckons the Diamonds can deal with the weight of expectation for the new season.
The final countdown to the start of the League One campaign is on with the competitive clashes set to kick off this weekend against Partick Thistle in the Betfred Cup.
With the full-time ‘hybrid’ model in place and 11 new first team recruits the pressure is on to be involved in the promotion battle at the top of League One.
Wedderburn, who joined from Raith this summer, admits that the ambitions of the club mean there will be added scrutiny this term.
The midfielder has impressed in the last week during outings against Cowdenbeath and Albion Rovers, with hopes now high he can dominate League One this term.
Wedderburn reckons his time at Stark’s Park has prepared him to bring success to the Penny Cars Stadium.
“It’s similar to Raith in a lot of ways here,” he told the Advertiser. “There are expectations on you to do well every week.
“The fans will put high demand on us because of where the club has been in the past. It’s for us to go out and play well, and enjoy our football.
“At this point we just need to make sure the fitness is there. We need the match fitness to get off to a good start.”
However, the 28-year-old feels like the desire of the club to return to their former glories is a big factor in why players have joined the New Broomfield side.
He believes the top four is a minimum following conversations with director of football Stuart Millar.
“I really liked the ambition of the club,” he continued. “Stuart Millar made it clear what they want to do here and the plans are in place to go for promotion this season.
“I’m sure if you asked any of the boys they would say the same thing. There is a real desire to challenge at the top of the league.
“There has been a lot of new faces but they have all been getting on well on pre-season. We just have to make it work in games and go for promotion.”