Survival Saturday

ONE of the reasons why I desired a career in sports journalism will be laid out at New Broomfield this weekend.

Airdrie United will take on champions St Johnstone as they fight for their first division lives on 'Survival Saturday'. The sense of anticipation is palpable.

Should Kenny Black's men defeat the Perth outfit and Ross County, who currently lie in the coveted eighth place, lose at Morton, then the Diamonds will secure outright survival and condemn the Staggies to the post-season play-offs.

Not only will we have the excitement of events on the pitch in Airdrie, those of us present will be keeping close tabs, whether it be by internet, radio or text, on how Morton are doing against County.

These are the type of football matches you want to be involved in whether you are a coach or player; fan or journalist. You simply can't buy this kind of drama on the last day of the season.

The game in this country may have problems, but Saturday will not be a day for debating such issues. All that matters is enjoying the afternoon for what it is. This is what the beautiful game is all about.

Can Airdrie do it? I believe they have the ability to beat St Johnstone, and with Ton in with a chance of finishing in the top four (this means entry to next season's Scottish Cup at the fourth round stage), I reckon they will be highly motivated to get a result at Cappielow.

It's almost impossible to predict how things will pan out over 90 mad minutes. The optimist in me says Airdrie and Morton will win and the former will stay up. However, the realist in me thinks County will get whatever points they need.

Across the country this Saturday, teams will be playing out meaningless games, counting down the minutes until school's out for summer.

But give me the thrills and spills of a battle against the dreaded drop instead of a mid-table mediocrity slugfest every day of the week. Let the action begin.