Spiders still climbing – watch Queen’s Park v Ayr United on BBC Scotland & iPlayer

On the pitch, central midfielder Scott Martin – a relative veteran now at the age of 29 – is also impressed by the level of emerging Scottish talent he sees around him.

“Young Aiden McCallion [co-operation loan from Rangers], he’s a central midfielder as well,” Martin says. “He’s been great since he came through the door, gets on with his work, very tidy on the ball. Same with Lewis Stewart [also co-operation loan from Rangers], he’s lightning.

“At Rangers, they must be so used to dominating the ball and having time. But here in the Championship it’s a totally different game. It’s end-to-end, it’s high intensity.

“It will be a great experience for them because they’re learning a totally different side of the game that maybe you wouldn’t learn at a B team or an under-19s or 20s, whatever it might be. The way they have fitted in has been absolutely top notch.”

After a good League Cup group campaign, the start of the Championship season has been more challenging for Queen’s Park. They currently find themselves second bottom of the table.

However, Martin is in no doubt they have what it takes to stay in the division again this season as they prepare to host an Ayr United side one place and one point above them.

“Anybody can beat anybody,” Martin added before Friday’s BBC Scotland TV match.

“We’ve had a lot of difficult games, but I think the Partick Thistle game was our turning point [0-0 draw] in the sense that we found that belief that we can go to, in my opinion, the hardest place in the Championship and grab a point.

“In terms of where we are this season, I think we’re OK. There’s been parts of games where we play really, really well. It’s just trying to put that all together and be more consistent.

“We’ve got a youngish squad at times as well, so it can be a bit difficult, but we’re not far away from being a right good side again.”