Sandilands returns to Montrose for the season
Montrose have secured the return of talented attacking midfielder Callum Sandilands on a season long loan from Premiership side Heart of Midlothian.
The 19-year-old is a well-known face around Links Park, having spent the second half of last season on loan, notching up 18 appearances and bagging three goals for the Gable Endies.
Manager Stewart Petrie said: “Callum was a breath of fresh air last year, bringing a real freshness and youthful energy to our midfield, as well as always providing a threat going forward.”
Callum added: “I’m buzzing to be back with the boys and the staff and really looking forward to getting to work on the unfinished business.”
Sandilands was included in the starting line-up as Montrose suffered a 2-0 defeat to Hamilton Academical at Broadwood Stadium in their opening Scottish League 1 fixture of the season.
Accies are considered to be one of the favourites for the League 1 title, despite their considerable off-field problems, and so it was always going to be a difficult opener for The Gable Endies.
While Accies enjoyed the bulk of possession in the first half, Montrose appeared to be holding their own. However, in added on time, they conceded the opening goal as Ollie Shaw got on the end of a cross from the right to tap home.
Accies effectively sealed the points just after the half hour mark when they added a second goal, with a trialist breaking through the middle before shooting past the keeper into the net.
This Saturday, the Gable Endies will be aiming to bounce back when they welcome Kelty Hearts to Links Park.
Manager Stewart Petrie is expecting a tight, competitive match against the Fife side, who lost their opening match 3-0 at home to Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
“Ideally we want to get off to a winning start at home,” said Petrie. “Last season, our home form wasn’t good enough and that was one of the reasons we were down in the bottom half of the table.
“So that’s something we’re looking to rectify and there’s no better time to do it than this Saturday.
“We keep saying it’s important not to lose two games on the trot because you can lose a lot of ground, so hopefully we can get a team out there that we think is right to beat Kelty.”