Ross Campbell says Montrose will give the Viaplay Cup their very best shot after finally being able to give their squad a much-needed break.
Montrose will kick off their Cup challenge with a home tie against Scottish Premiership side St Mirren on Saturday.
And having had the benefit of a longer pre-season break than recent years, Montrose are refreshed and raring to go.
“The cup always comes round quite quickly,” said Montrose assistant Campbell.
“For part-time teams like us you can have players missing due to holidays.
“Often, it’s a time to mix your squad about and get minutes into legs.
“That’s what we’ve done in the past but it will be a bit different for us this year.
“We wanted to make the play-offs last year again, of course we did.
“But because we didn’t it meant the players had more than three weeks off.
“They could have been mentally and physically drained after just a short break.
“A lot of them have been able to get away and have a holiday and they are good to go.
“Hopefully, that bodes well for the cup. It will be a huge test against St Mirren but one we are relishing.”
Ross Campbell highlights Montrose togetherness
Montrose held a squad-building weekend at the start of the month with two games and a night out in the space of 48 hours.
Defeat to Forfar was followed up with a 3-1 Angus derby win over Arbroath in Ricky Little’s testimonial.
By night, the Montrose players enjoyed a social event with staff and directors.
And Campbell added: “That weekend was really important to us.
“We spent time getting some messaging across to players, got minutes into legs but also – importantly – had a night out.
“There aren’t many clubs who will have players, staff and directors all going out together but that’s what we do at Montrose.
“Tactics and technical stuff is very important but we place an enormous value on togetherness. We are big on that.
“Having that togetherness doesn’t guarantee success but it can certainly help.”
