The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Best in Angus tipped for League One title glory
Lichties captain Whatley says derbies will play part in title race
Arbroath skipper Mark Whatley reckons whoever comes out on top among the Angus clubs might well go on to win Ladbrokes League One.
For the first time in 25 years Arbroath, Brechin, Forfar and Montrose are all in the same division.
That means each club faces 12 derbies which is a third of the fixtures and will bring a huge focus to the area throughout the season which starts on Saturday,
Whatley said: “It’s going to have an added edge for sure – and less travelling for all of us.
“The derbies are always great but from our point of view we are hoping to be competing at the top end of the table again after just coming up short in the play-offs last season.
“We’re hoping to be up there again – but it will be strange that almost half of the season will be Angus derbies.”
Forfar skipper Michael Travis hopes it will inspire his side to a stronger performance in the division.
He said: “We didn’t do too well in the derbies last year but we beat Montrose in the League Cup recently so hopefully that augurs well.
“It gives the league an added dimen- sion with so many local clashes and it will bring the fans out.
“Hopefully we can get the majority of the wins and get to the top of that pile and if we do that we won’t be far away in the league overall.
“Jim Weir has now had time to bring in who he wants to build the team he wants so hopefully we can really kick on.
“We maybe still need a few more to strengthen the squad but we’ll be looking to do a lot better than we did last season.
“We struggled last year but when the gaffer came in he maybe changed the mentality and we got the results we needed against the likes of Albion Rovers and Queen’s Park.
“We have brought in Thomas Reilly, who is very tidy on the ball, former Partick Thistle midfielder Gary Fraser and John Baird, of course, who is also assistant manager but is still a major goal threat.”
It will be a chance for Brechin City to restore their pride after the horrendous stat of failing to win a game in the Ladbrokes Championship last season.
Skipper Paul McLean said: “It was so tough last season and the longer it went without a win every time we went behind, we all thought ‘here we go again’.
“We were out of our depth a wee bit. We were only one of two part-time clubs in the division. So hopefully this year will be more of a level playing field.
“I’ve been at Brechin for 10 years so it’s the first time all four Angus teams have been in it.
“So it’s going to be great for the fans and the club in general.”
Having coming up from League Two, Montrose are keen to solidify their position in the season ahead.
Skipper Paul Watson said: “It was a great period last season and we were so pleased to win the league.
“Stewart Petrie has had such a positive effect on us. We were struggling when he took over, took us to the play-offs the year before and then we won the title.
“So he has been a breath of fresh air and long may it continue.
“It’s going to be a mini league among the Angus clubs and that’s great in terms of travelling for us
“The derbies will be good and we’ve got wo in the first three weeks so I look forward to that.
“It will be a challenge for us because Arbroath will be challenging, Forfar are a good side and Brechin have just come down so we look forward to that one.
“We just want to establish ourselves as a League One club again.”