GARDNER SPEIRS is confident Queen's Park can upset the odds when they face Ayr United today.

The Spiders kick off their campaign with a Ramsdens Cup tie at home to the SPFL League One outfit aiming to hit the ground running as preparations continue ahead of the new league campaign.

Boss Speirs is pleased with how his side have shaped up during their pre-season campaign and is relishing the opportunity to get down to business when the real action starts this afternoon.

He said: "We are looking forward to getting back into the competitive games.

"We have had a reasonably good pre-season, we have played eight or nine games and did well, but the guys are looking forward to getting back into the competitive games again.

"I am sure Ayr will be difficult opponents and it will be a hard game for us but we will be confident going into it.

"We played them in pre-season and they beat us 3-0, so we know it won't be easy for us.

"They have got some good players and they are a league above us, so they will start as favourites but we will go and do our best.

"It is the first game of the season at Hampden and there is lots to look forward to."

After seeing a host of first-team stars leave the club at the end of the campaign, Speirs had a major rebuilding job on his hands this summer.

Striker Joao Pereira Victoria and former Dundee United youngster Shaun Rooney are the only new faces so far, but the Hampden gaffer is keen to dip into the transfer market again.

Speirs said: "We have added two players and hopefully we are not finished yet and we have promoted three players from the Under-19s as well.

"I would still like another two or three players but we will keep looking."