Jim McInally has had precious little time to prepare for tonight’s play-off with Montrose at Links Park, but the Peterhead manager is confident he knows what to expect from the Gable Endies.
The Blue Toon take on Montrose in the first leg of the League 1 play-offs this evening with Forfar Athletic taking on Annan Athletic in the other semi-final.
A 1-1 draw against Clyde earned Montrose a place in the play-offs at the expense of Elgin City and McInally expects a difficult test against Stewart Petrie’s side, beaten only once in eight games.
The Peterhead manager said: “We beat them 2-0 in a pre-season friendly and I know most of their players. I got a good report on their match on Saturday and I have watched footage of them so I feel I am pretty clued up.
“They have been on a fantastic run under Stewart. He was probably brought in to make sure they didn’t end up in the relegation play-off, but they have done so well they have made it into the promotion play-offs. They will be treating this as a free hit but that is the same way we are viewing the match.
“We felt we were going to get relegated on Saturday and there was a great atmosphere after the game when we knew we had been granted this chance.”
Peterhead won promotion to League 1 as champions in 2014 and McInally is desperate to avoid a return to Scottish football’s fourth tier.
He added: “The match is on an artificial surface which I think is a decent thing for this stage of the season.
“It will be a good surface rather than playing on a bumpy pitch with no grass on it.
“That is a bonus.
“We just need to be as professional as possible.
“This is a shot to nothing and we need to make the most of it. It looks like everyone is going to be available for this one.
“Liam Gordon, who has been missing with a knee injury, might be available which would be a boost.
“He was going to train with his parent club St Johnstone and if everything goes well he will be in contention to play.”
