Bob grabbed second chance to work with Hoppy

Striker Bob McHugh says that he was never going to say no to David Hopkin for a second time as he agreed to sign a contract extension to work under the new Morton manager this term.

The 27-year-old spoke with Hopkin about a move to Livingston in the summer of 2017 but elected to accept an offer of a two-year contract at Cappielow.

McHugh revealed that Hopkin joked about that decision when they met last week to discuss the prospect of him penning a deal with the Ton.

He was delighted to discover he was part of the Greenock gaffer’s plans and was keen to seize a second chance to play for him after seeing the success the former Scotland international went on to enjoy at Almondvale.

McHugh told gmfc.net: “I’ve signed a year’s extension and I’m obviously delighted to get it sorted this early in the summer and delighted to be back.

“This will be my third season and I’ve enjoyed my time here. I’ve had two relatively successful seasons, but I’m hoping next season will be the best of the lot.

“There have been a few changes at the club and it’s very positive. I’m sure with the new manager coming in we’ll do really well, so I’m looking forward to it.

“With the new manager coming in, I had to make sure that he wanted me; that was the first thing. He made it clear that he did want me, and from there I was always going to come back to Morton.

“The manager actually contacted me before I signed with Morton the first time and was looking to get me to sign with Livingston.

“I had brief chats with him then and everything he had to say made it very tempting. I chose Morton in the end – and that was the first thing he said to me when we had our meeting last week.

“He made a joke that I said Livingston would get relegated. Obviously Livingston had a really good season and went on to get promoted, which not many people could have seen after they had come up from League One.

“So I wasn’t going to knock him back a second time! I know from playing against his sides that it was always a really tough game, especially as a striker, and I’m looking forward to working with him now.

“He knows how to coach so I’m hoping he can work with me, and some of the young players, and help me score more goals and help the team be more successful.

“I’m in at the ground now as I speak and there’s a lot of work going on. You can see the wee positive changes about the place and I think they’re going to take the club forward.”

McHugh has finished as Ton’s top marksman in each of his two seasons at Cappielow, netting eight goals in 2017/18 and then 10 last term, but he wants to increase his tally next year.

He added: “Finishing as top goalscorer will be what I’m aiming to do again. But I’m looking to hit a wee bit higher than I have in the last few seasons, looking to build on the 10 I scored last year.

“I’m coming into my peak years now – [I’m] 27 just now – so hopefully this will be a right good season for me and I get a good run at it injury free and we kick on as a team.”

 

Image: Jonathan Mitchell