Paul Sheerin spoke to afc.co.uk after his sides 3-0 win at Links Park this evening:

“Arguably on paper Montrose are the strongest of the sides we have faced so far in pre-season and we did feel that in the build up to the game without being disrespectful to the Highland League sides who also gave us a good test last week.

“We had a tough game up at Brora on Saturday which we lost 3-1. The scoreline was frustrating but in terms of a learning tool it was great for us, as was coming here tonight. Montrose had a great run of results last season when they went from the bottom of the league up to the play-offs. So they were probably the form side of the division at the end of last season.

“Therefore I am very pleased with the performance.

“I though we struggled a bit at the start of the game so I tweaked the shape of the team slightly. That gave us a bit of impetus and allowed us to get on the ball a bit more. We also managed to get Bruce and Connor into good areas and get Lewis up the park.

“So very pleasing overall. The clean sheet was also a bonus for us at this level. We concede too many goals at times but we did have a couple more experienced boys in there tonight to help them a little.

“All in all a very good eight days for us.

“At times the football was not pretty but there is a real willingness from the likes of Bruce Anderson to chase things for us. Sometimes you have to go long. Young players just need to learn when they should do that. Yes we want to play football in the so called right manner but there are times when you need to go back to front which allows you to get up the pitch and get in behind their defenders which puts pressure on them and puts them in areas they don’t want to be in. Bruce did that and forced a mistake which led to the penalty. His other goal, showed his composure after a good ball over the top from Harlain.

“Bruce has come back for pre-season and has looked hungry. As have all the boys. We are asking them to push themselves as much as they can. It is early days but the boys are looking good. Long may it continue.

“You had Frank Ross, Danny Harvie, Bruce Anderson and Connor McLennan all away with the first team last week. So we were short of them and therefore took in a number of players from Scott’s U17 squad. Their performances were pleasing and it is good to see there is a conveyer belt and they are getting tested at tougher levels.

“Our next game ins against St Johnstone U20s in the Irn-Bru Cup. It will be a tough game. We have some tough games against them last season. It won’t be easy but it would be nice to win to get into the next round and then come up against a League side which would give the boys a different kind of test. It is a good test when you play these games. I enjoyed the test tonight.

“We have a bit of a split squad now. There is the Gothia Cup in Sweden coming up which is U18 so eleven of the squad will be going to that. We will manage the other ones and maybe sneak a game in with the fringe first team players.

“The U20 league starts at the end of August. A couple of teams have dropped out which is not what you want but there are now fewer games which is not always a bad thing. Hopefully it will help in terms of week to week management of the league and it will be a bit more structured and we will not have to play a lot of games in a short space of time at the end of the season.”

“The U20 league starts at the end of August. A couple of teams have dropped out which is not what you want but there are now fewer games which is not always a bad thing. Hopefully it will help in terms of week to week management of the league and it will be a bit more structured and we will not have to play a lot of games in a short space of time at the end of the season.”