ROSS CAMPBELL is expecting an entertaining encounter at Links Park this evening as the Montrose assistant manager prepares for another run at the Championship play-offs with the Angus club.
The League One side host Airdrieonians tonight ahead of the return leg in Lanarkshire on Saturday and Campbell reckons there will be very little to separate the two teams.
Ian Murray’s men secured second place in Scotland’s third tier thanks to a remarkable 20-game unbeaten run but even though the form book is in the Diamonds’ favour, Campbell insists that he and his players have their own reasons for feeling quietly optimistic.
“We’re excited,” he said. “It feels like it has been a mixed season. We felt we had a team that could compete for the league but Airdrie were ahead of us and Cove were even further ahead, so we accepted that. Maybe over the last 10 days it has became real.
“The last meeting was really end-to-end and open and I think that’s symptomatic of the other times we’ve played them this season. Three out of the four games have been high-scoring and open-ended.
“It will be interesting with the pressure of the play-offs whether it’s like that or not. We are two quite robust, strong teams.
“[Airdrie’s form] been brilliant but it doesn’t bother us that much because we had a similar run earlier in the year. Credit to them but it doesn’t really come into our thinking. If we look at our games against them over the last three years, they have always been tight.”
Montrose’s title tilt fizzled during the second half of the season as they settled for a place in the play-offs once again. It is testament to the work done by manager Stewart Petrie and his No.2 that the achievement barely raised an eyebrow, such are the lofty expectations at the part-time club these days.
“Stewart came in when we were at the bottom of League Two and since then we have went play-offs, then won the league, then four years in the play-offs,” Campbell added.
“Airdrie are full-time. Queen’s Park are full-time. Dunfermline are full-time. Cove have got a budget that is probably beyond full-time. So all things considered we are immensely proud but not complacent. We’re not getting ahead of ourselves.”
