I’m sad to see lack of sparkle at Diamonds
BY GAVIN BERRY JOHN MARTIN admits the atmosphere at Airdrie is now soulless and unrecognisable from his days playing in front of a packed Broomfield.
The former keeper is saddened by the demise of the Diamonds who are now languishing mid-table in League One after years of off-field turmoil.
It’s a far cry from the early 90s when Martin helped the club reach two Scottish Cup finals – losing to Celtic and Rangers – and Euro qualification.
Martin made almost 700 appearances for the club but reckons beating Celtic in Saturday’s fourth-round clash at Parkhead would top anything he achieved.
The 60-year-old said: “I’ve been through there to watch the games and help out with hospitality and I just think, `Who is this?’
“The hospitality was first class but the game was horrendous. The decades of decline saddens. It’s the whole package.
“You’re lucky if there’s 600 people there. When we played at Broomfield we would have 10,000 or 12,000 fans there and the atmosphere was great.
“It makes we wonder where the fans have all gone. When we were playing Celtic we were full-time and able to sign really good players.
“Now Airdrie are in the third tier, part-time – if they win at Celtic Park it would easily be better than anything we achieved.”