Carlo Monti is aiming to show his ‘daft’ Celtic days are behind him by blasting Dundee back to the top flight.
The Dark Blues new boy continued his rehabilitation after signing from junior side Pollok with his third goal on the trot in Saturday’s hard-fought 1-0 win against Forfar at Station Park.
Monti was hailed the next big thing as he rose through the youth ranks at Parkhead but admits his attitude cost him the chance of his big breakthrough at the Glasgow club.
A spell at Morton followed before the 23-year-old bagged 55 goals in 56 games for Pollok in a prolific 18-month spell which convinced Dundee boss John Brown to snap him up for the league favourites last week.
The Dens Park outfit are being tipped for a quick return to the top flight, with Monti desperate to play a starring role.
He said: “Celtic was a learning curve. When you look back at things when you were younger, navety plays a big part.
“So it was just daftness from me being a young boy. But you grow up and appreciate things.
“Hopefully my performances on the pitch will show that I’m not as silly or as nave as I used to be when I was younger.
“I’m not here to just fill a jersey or be part of a squad. I’m here to go and kick on and score goals.”
Monti’s classy first-half header meant Dundee remain unbeaten in three pre-season friendlies ahead of Tuesday night’s trip to face Clyde, as they step up their preparations ahead of a Ramsdens Cup opener away to Alloa in less than a fortnight.
He thanked ‘Bomber’ for handing him the chance to get his career back on track following a successful spell in the juniors.
He said: “Dundee are a massive club heading in the right direction. I’m very excited about being here. I’ve managed to earn myself a great move and hopefully I’ll be here for quite a while.
“I had a great time at Pollok where I scored a lot of goals. But the hard work starts again to try and proved myself by getting goals in the First Division.
“The manager has been great with me. He’s been honest with me from day one. I want that good, working relationship to continue and try to repay his faith in me by scoring goals for him.”
Brown saluted Monti for his attitude, which came to the fore during his recent trial spell on Tayside.
He said: “Carlo is looking hungry and his attitude has been first-class.”
Dundee were looking to build on their impressive 5-1 win away to Montrose in midweek.
It was their second visit to Angus in the space of a few days and boss Brown fielded a strong line-up including summer signings Peter MacDonald and Gavin Rae, while recently-captured keeper Kyle Letheren also featured after the break and contributed with a couple of smart saves to deny Forfar a late leveller.
Marvin Andrews came close for the hosts as he rose to head Ian Campbell’s corner only for Dundee defender Gary Irvine to nod off the line midway through the first half but Monte gave the Dark Blues the lead on 29 minutes.
Jamie Reid’s cross was inch-perfect and Monti flashed home a header which goalkeeper Darren Hill got a hand to but could not keep out.
A raft of substitutions followed after the interval although the part-time Loons should be commended on their fitness as they almost levelled through substitute James Dale on 80 minutes, only for his piledriver to hit Letheren’s crossbar.
Loons boss Dick Campbell was satisfied with the overall workout.
He said: “Dundee are going to be a major team in their league but so are we. We gave a good account of ourselves in the second half and might just have got an equaliser to show for our efforts.”