Former Forfar and Dunfermline striker named Gable Endies boss

Montrose have announced the appointment of Stewart Petrie as the club’s new manager.

The Angus side parted company with former boss Paul Hegarty last month with his assistant John Holt taking charge on a caretaker basis.

The Montrose board interviewed applicants for the post last week with Petrie ultimately emerging as their preferred candidate.

The 46-year-old, who featured for Forfar, Dunfermline and Ross County during his playing career, has also coached in Australia as well as at Arbroath and Forfar.

Most recently he has been assistant manager at Junior side Broughty Athletic.

Now he will meet the Montrose players at training tomorrow night before taking charge of his first game at Clyde on Saturday.

Petrie faces a daunting task with the Gable Endies propping up League 2 following Saturday’s 4-1 defeat at Elgin City.

However, chairman John Crawford and the club board firmly believe they have found the right man for the job.

Crawford said, “We are delighted to secure the services of Stewart at this very important time.

“He is highly motivated and enthusiastic, comes with a wealth of playing and coaching experience and most importantly understands the lower leagues of Scottish football.

“It was very pleasing to see the level of interest we received in the position and Stewart fought off strong competition to get the job.

“I would like to thank John Holt for his support in stepping in and looking after the team since the departure of Paul Hegarty and wish him every success for the future.”

Meanwhile caretaker boss John Holt’s game plan went out of the window at Borough Briggs from the moment Terry Masson’s rush of blood left him staring at a red card.

Ref David Lowe had no hesitation in dismissing the player for a dangerous tackle on Elgin captain Archie Macphee with just six minutes on the clock.

The visitors were deservedly on level terms at half-time but Macphee fired home early in the second half, with Chris McLeish and Shane Sutherland sealing Montrose’s fate.

The visitors did pull one back through a smart Michael Bolochoweckyj finish on 81 minutes but Brian Cameron added a fourth with nine minutes remaining.