Captain’s Log with Jim McAlister
Having started my career and enjoyed a number of memorable years, from late 2002 until May 2010, here at Morton, it’s great to be back home.
Being asked to captain the football club has only added to that feeling. It’s an honour and a privilege to wear the armband this season.
That honour extends to being appointed skipper to the great bunch of boys that we have in our squad. A lot of new faces have joined this summer, but everyone has been made to feel very welcome and settled in quickly.
We have had a positive pre-season, with every single member of the squad coming back in great physical condition and improving further over the weeks.
The gaffer and Darren have brought in sport scientist Graeme Henderson as head of performance, which I firmly believe will be of a huge benefit to the boys.
Graeme has done an excellent job in getting us in shape for the season ahead and this is something that will stand us in good stead going forward.
We are obviously disappointed to be out of the Betfred Cup, but our performances grew as the competition went on, and it was nice to end with a 5-0 win over Albion Rovers.
It was great to see Connor Bell get off the mark on his debut and for young Ben to score his first senior goal, which he thoroughly deserved for his hard work after coming on.
As someone who started as a young player at Morton myself, I felt it was a real positive to finish the game with young Ben, Ruaridh Langan and Darren Hynes all on the field.
When I returned to the club after eight years away I was intrigued to see what changes had been made around the place. By the looks of it, the club now has a fantastic youth academy, which was something that wasn’t in place in the past.
Hopefully we see more youth academy players progressing and taking inspiration from watching the likes of Ben, Ruaridh and Darren getting minutes for the first team.
We turn our attention to the Ladbrokes Championship campaign now, and, in my eyes, the league this season is going to be the most competitive it has ever been.
With clubs desperate to get back to the top flight, our home games are going to be hugely important for us.
Hopefully we can produce the football that will see the Cappielow crowd get right behind us, as we have a lot of younger boys who will thrive on your excellent support.
Behind the scenes it has been brilliant to see a lot of familiar faces, be it the programme and lottery sellers, Mark the groundsman or wee Andy the kitman.
They are part of what makes a club like Morton special – having people who work here with that emotional attachment and understanding of what it’s all about.
Let’s get everyone all pulling in that same direction and hopefully that togetherness will lead to a successful season ahead.
C’mon the Ton!
Jim
