Stewart Petrie will always be a Dunfermline legend.
The former Pars attacker scored the vital goal against title rivals Dundee United on the penultimate day of the season, as the Fifers clinched the First Division in dramatic fashion the following week in 1996.
He also went on to appear almost 270 times for the East End Park side over 10 years.
The Dunfermline Hall of Famer said of his induction in 2019: “I had ten great years here and I was very privileged to play for this magnificent club.
“Once you have been there for that length of time it is my club.”
Dunfermline a ‘special place’ for Petrie
There’s no doubt the now-52-year-old will always have a soft spot for his former team.
But this weekend will be a bit different.
Petrie will take his Montrose team to face James McPake’s side in, arguably, the game of the weekend in League One.
The clash will be the first time in his managerial career that he has taken charge of a side at Dunfermline.
For a few hours on Saturday, all loyalties are being cast aside as he looks to bag the Gable Endies first win of the season.
“It’s great every time I go back, it’s fabulous when you walk through those doors,” Petrie said.
“It’s a special place for me.
“But we’re going back there to try and win the game.
“Whether it’s Dunfermline, or anyone else, the full focus will be on Montrose.
Plan to ‘frustrate’ Pars
“They have started really well, which you’d expect. No doubt they’ll be favourites now to win the league with Falkirk not having so good a start and Queen of the South only picking up one point.”
Petrie is expecting a big crowd at East End Park and believes his men can feed off the atmosphere – especially if they can frustrate their opponents.
“We’ll get the boys ready for that,” he added. “It will be good for them, they won’t have to lift themselves – there will be a right few thousand in there.
“When they are going we’ll they’ll get a good crowd.
“It’s a great place to play but we’ll go there, try and frustrate them and see if we can get something out of the game.”
Montrose will ‘get it right’
While Montrose have looked fairly solid at the back with two shutouts in their opening matches, they have yet to find a route to goal.
The Links Park boss remains patient though and is confident his team will produce the results once they’ve had time to full gel.
“We are kind of finding our feet a little bit now with the boys and with the four new ones coming in,” Petrie explained. “It will take a bit of time to bed in.
“I’m fortunate we’ll get that time and not be as under pressure as some clubs.
“We will get it right.”
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