What can Airdrie fans look forward to in the 2025/26 season?
Kai Watson 
The two-legged play-off win over Cove Rangers saved Airdrie's season, with the 2-1 first-leg win effectively confirming their place in the Championship next season.
It was their second season back in the Scottish second tier and before a ball is kicked next season they are bound to be one of the favourites to finish bottom with online bookmakers.
Free Bets Scottish expert Kai Watson has had a closer look at what Airdrie need to do to improve next season.
After an absolutely dismal start to the season, Rhys McCabe’s side began to push on from February and mounted a serious charge to avoid relegation. However, had it not been for Hamilton’s 15 point deduction they still would have finished bottom.
They got lucky this time around and ended up finishing 11th due to Accies situation. That being said, they breezed through the Play-Offs unbeaten, beating Stenhousemuir 5-2 on aggregate and Cove Rangers 2-1 over two legs.
They were definitely too good for some of the best that League One had to offer, but how will they fare in the Scottish Championship next season? If it wasn’t already, it became clear this season that manager Rhys McCabe will not change his play style and philosophy. Something you have to partially respect but also something that will probably leave the fans with their head in their hands at times.
At their best, Airdrie will press aggressively and look to get the ball up the pitch with short, sharp passing. They can be a joy to watch but their insistence on playing it out from the back has caused them to lose a lot of goals this season. In 36 games this season, they scored 34, less than a goal a game, and conceded 62, averaging 1.7 goals conceded per game.
When they’re totalling 244 errors leading to shots over those 36 games, it’s no wonder they ended up in the League One Play-Offs. Their defensive work has to be rectified for next season, especially if they go with the same risky playing style at the back.
Their biggest issue currently is that 15 players are confirmed to have their contracts running out at the end of this month. The other 10 players in the squads contract end date isn’t available on Transfermarkt but the 15 that are confirmed include current manager Rhys McCabe. It’s likely that their board were waiting to see which league they would be playing in next season before handing out new contracts or deciding who would be released.
There are some things that they need to ensure they do this summer when it comes to recruitment though;
- Sign players capable of playing their style
- Sign defenders that are comfortable on the ball
- Sign more creative threats
The philosophy from the manager can definitely be successful at this level but they need to get their recruitment spot on this summer.
On top of that, keeping players like Chris Mochrie and Ben Wilson, who contribute goals will be crucial in their quest to improve on this season's performance. It seems likely that Rhys McCabe remains at the club, which is great for the league and Scottish football because that still is exciting to watch, even if it’s stressful for the Airdrie fans at times. Personally, I’m a fan of Rhys McCabe and the football that he tries to play. If he can get the right players and improve the team defensively, they have a chance of causing a lot of Championship teams issues next season.
As previously mentioned though, recruitment is key and if they can’t bring in the right players and sort out the defensive issues, they’ll be relegation favourites again and might not get as lucky as they did this season.
