JIM DUFFY insists his Morton players are fully focused on proving they can compete in the Ladbrokes Championship following their morale-boosting League Cup win over Elgin City.
The Ton manager reckons the 5-0 victory will give his side some welcome momentum heading into Saturday’s opening league game against Falkirk.
The Cappielow side have a tough opening set of fixtures, with the visit of the Bairns coming before a trip to face Hibs and the local derby against St Mirren, but Duffy says his men aren’t thinking too far ahead.
“Falkirk is going to be tough enough, and I’m not looking at anything beyond that,” he said. “Our full concentration is on the fixture ahead of us.
“It will be a tough game, but hopefully it will be a tough game for them as well. We’ve had a lot of injuries along with suspensions.
“We’ve not had Michael Tidser, while Peter McDonald was out last weekend and we’ve not been able to call on new signing Frank McKeown. On top of that, Thomas O’Ware and Joe McKee are also still injured.
“That’s difficult to cope with, and it’s hard to say if we’re ready because you want to have everybody available so you can look at what shape you’re in.
“But, in terms of fitness and in terms of confidence, then the victory over Elgin will help, and we’ll go into the Falkirk game in better shape for that performance and result.
“We also understand, though, that Falkirk are a different proposition.
“Maybe a couple will be back for Saturday, although Joe and Thomas will certainly still be missing.
“We won’t be at full strength, but the players who are asked to perform will be looking forward to it.
“We’re going to unfurl the league flag and there will be a great atmosphere, and with a club like Falkirk – who were cup finalists last year – they will bring a really good travelling support as well. So I think it will be a terrific match and it’s one that we’re all looking forward to.”
The Morton gaffer admitted he would still like to strengthen in the key areas of central defence and up front, but he would not be setting any targets about where his side can finish.
“We’ll just be trying to get as many points on the board as we possibly can and then we’ll see where we are,” he said.
“There’s no point in saying where you would like to be because we need to see where we are probably once we’ve played everybody, then we might have an idea of where we are in this particular league.
“At this moment in time, we’re just looking at the Falkirk game because so many things can happen. You can get injuries or suspensions, so you can’t say for sure how you’re going to be.
“All you can do is give your best, and I expect our players to be really competitive this year.
“They’ve always been competitive and I don’t think that will change. We’ll have that attitude and work ethic, and we’ll make it difficult for clubs.
“We understand it’s going to be difficult for us, but we’ll be making it difficult for any side that come to Cappielow.”
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