Petrie expects tough game despite turmoil at Clyde

Montrose manager Stewart Petrie is still expecting a tough time at Clyde despite the departure of Barry Ferguson.

The former Rangers and Scotland captain resigned as Bully Wee boss following Saturday’s defeat to Annan.

The team that lines up against Montrose at Broadwood tonight will be taken by Ferguson’s assistant Bob Malcolm and he faces a difficult job in raising morale following the gaffer’s shock decision to quit.

However, Petrie does not believe all the upheaval will necessarily play into the Gable Endies’ hands.

Petrie, whose men got a terrific point at Forfar at the weekend, said: “It is difficult to judge how a team will react to their manager leaving and Clyde might get a positive reaction.

“The thing about them is that they have a lot of talented players and they will be hurting now that Barry has gone. Regardless of who takes their team, and I believe it will be Bob Malcolm, the amount of good players Clyde have means it will be a tough game for us.

“This will be about what we do and we must refocus after what was a really good point for us at Forfar,” he continued.

The 0-0 draw at Station Park saw Montrose more than hold their own in the Angus derby and Petrie was understandably satisfied with that battling performance.

He said: “It was a very good point for us.

“Anything you can get out of a game against the league leaders you have to be very happy with.

“The conditions weren’t great and I would have liked to have played better at times but, overall, it was a pretty decent day for us and I was delighted with the players.

“Now we have to stay focused when we face Clyde.

“It is very simple, what we are trying to achieve at Montrose.

“We want to gather as many points as we can because every point we get takes us further away from bottom spot.”

The Gable Endies are likely to be without full-back Andrew Steeves, who has a hamstring problem.

Petrie confirmed: “Andrew is struggling and I would say he is extremely doubtful.

“The nature of the injury means we will not take a chance on him in case we risk losing him for a longer period.”

Andrew Steeves is likely to be missing for Montrose.