Montrose coach Iain Campbell says he is looking forward to the second half of the season with his side ‘in with a shout’ of promotion to the Championship.
The Gable Endies made it 12 league games unbeaten on Wednesday night with a 2-0 victory over Peterhead at Links Park.
Campbell took charge of the side, alongside goalkeeping coach Tony Bullock, in the absence of manager Stewart Petrie and his assistant Ross Campbell.
Worth the win
Despite the gaffer missing from the dugout, an early goal from Andrew Steeves then a Blair Lyons strike won the points as the Mighty Mo closed the gap to just two points at the top of League One.
Campbell believes his side were worthy of the win.
“I thought we started the game really well,” he said. “Then we just seemed to sit off a little bit and I thought for the last part of the first half, they caused us a few problems.
“I spoke to the boys at half time, changed it a little bit in the second half.
“I thought we did very well in the second half and won comfortably in the end.”
Limited availability
The win marked the end of an incredible 2021 for Mo who have only tasted defeat six times in the league in the calendar year.
Campbell said, given absences through injuries and Covid in recent weeks, their current unbeaten run is testament to the players.
“It’s phenomenal especially considering the last two or three games, like others in the league, we have been very limited in numbers.
“We had 12 fit players on Saturday, the boys are playing through injuries and tiredness at this time of year.
“We just go about our business well; I can’t praise the players enough. They are doing excellent.”
‘In with a shout’
With half the season out of the way, Montrose are within touching distance of first place.
The initial target at the start of the season was to secure their place as a League One side.
Even though there are a lot of games to go, Campbell doesn’t blame some of his players for starting to think about a promotion spot – or even winning the league.
“We’re in with a shout now going into the second half of the season,” he said.
“Teams know what we’re all about. To be on that unbeaten run, the boys are going to start thinking ‘we’ve got a wee a chance now’.”
“There are a few good teams in the league, we’re not going to kid on but we’re going about it the right way.
“We’re very level headed but we’re looking forward to the second half of the season, definitely.”
