Russell McLean insists he will not be joining Montrose as he mulls over his future with Peterhead.
The Gable Endies pipped Peterhead to the League 2 title this season and want to take McLean up a level with them. However McLean, who has an offer on the table from the Blue Toon, said he will not be joining Stewart Petrie’s side.
A former Hearts youngster, McLean joined Jim McInally’s side last summer after missing out on promotion to the SPFL with East Kilbride. The 19-year-old hit 17 goals in 45 games and finished the season at centre-half, as injuries hit the Blue Toon’s bid for play-off success.
McLean expects to make a decision on his future in the next week but will not be going to Links Park.
He said: “I will not be signing for them, after what happened last season. As a team we felt anything less than winning the league would be a failure – even if we got through the play-offs it wouldn’t have made up for it.
“But I loved every minute of this season regardless. In my heart and in my head, I’m 90 per cent sure that if I stay part-time, I’ll sign with Peterhead. I’ve been offered a contract and Jim (McInally) has phoned me to say he’s staying, so I’m just waiting to see what my options are. But I have spoken to Stewart Petrie (Montrose manager) to say I didn’t really want to sign for Montrose.”
McLean has had brief discussions with clubs about going full-time but there are no offers on the table as yet for his services.
He admits that should he decide to remain at Balmoor, McInally will be a big factor as he has taken criticism for not guiding Peterhead back to League 1 at the first time of asking.
McLean added: “I feel as if we’ve got quite a lot of wrongs to right in terms of last season. Everyone is aware of the criticism of Jim for not winning the league and we need to take some of that on ourselves.
“In my opinion, we’ve got the best squad in League 2 and probably one of the best in League 1. We should have won the league. Anyone getting 76 points next season will have the league won early doors.
“As a person and a manager, I really like Jim. He’s been really good to me this season, working closely with him has helped me through the season and if I stay, he’ll be a big factor.”
