Petrie hoping hard work will pay off

Montrose may have beaten Berwick this season but manager Stewart Petrie is taking nothing for granted when the two sides meet at Links Park this afternoon.

The Gable Endies gaffer, who picked up the Ladbrokes Manager of the Month Award for November this week, is focused on a busy December as his side look to consolidate their place as one of the League 2 promotion pacesetters.

However, Petrie is wary of a Berwick side who will arrive in confident mood after a notable victory over Stirling Albion last week.

He said: “It was a good point for us last week as Clyde is always a difficult place to go to.

“They were always going to come out strongly trying to impress their new management team of Danny Lennon and Allan Moore.

“Ultimately, we probably cancelled each other out but a draw was a fair result.

“We failed to score, and our lack of goals is a concern. It is something we have spoken about and worked hard on in training that we have to hit the back of the net more often,” Petrie said.

“The onus isn’t just on the strikers. We need to carry more of a threat from set-pieces and the wide areas.

“However, it would be more of a worry if we weren’t winning. But we cannot rely on our defence to keep clean sheets all the time,” he said.

“We may have beaten them once already this season but they are a big, strong side and their tails will be up after their victory over Stirling Albion last Saturday, which once again shows just how competitive this league is.”

Ryan Ferguson and Danny Cavanagh returned to full training this week but have had long injury lay-offs and will not be risked against Berwick.

Picture: SNS. Jim Petrie with his manager’s award for November.