Manager on Friday

05/11/10: JM - "Cappielow is always a very tough venue regardless of when you are facing them so we know that we will have to be at our best."

Jim McIntyre is expecting Morton to provide much stiffer opposition than their league position might suggest. Only minus 25 points Dundee lie below the Greenock side but second placed Pars can expect no leisurely trip when they go doon the water on Saturday:-

"We have had them watched a couple of times and the reports say that they have played some good stuff; they are just not getting the breaks.  In the home fixture against them they played well up until the final third, the final third let them down that day. We also scored at the right times that always helps.

"They have some good players - Graeme Holmes and Stewart Kean who has scored a few goals against us in his time at Queen of the South. They have players that can hurt you, there's no doubt about that. Cappielow is always a very tough venue regardless of when you are facing them so we know that we will have to be at our best."

The Manager was delighted with the win and performance against Stirling Albion last Saturday:-

"It is never easy when teams come and set up to be difficult to break down. I thought that, right from the off, we moved the ball really well and got at them right from the start which was important. Wullie (Gibson) scored a fantastic free kick to get our noses in front and we added a second not long after. That gave us the platform to go on and although Stirling changed it moving five into the middle, we were still threatening and moving it well.

"For me Gary Mason was immense last week; he does a lot of work that goes unnoticed. He is the players' player and the Manager's player - very efficient and very good at what he does. Andy Kirk has had a couple of quiet weeks in front of goal but he has had a great start to the season. Not just his goal, his overall play was excellent last week."

The Manager confirmed that his injury list remains the same as last weekend but there was still enough of a squad to choose to play a reserve game during the week. Celtic were the opponents for Tuesday's match in which 19 year old Ryan Thomson impressed for the Pars, scoring a fine goal:-

"To have a full time under 19 squad is great because these boys get valuable experience. Young Aaron Scott did really well too because they were up against good players and playing on a great surface up at Lennoxtown. It was a test for Jordan White who acquitted himself well and these games are so much better than the Reserve League Cup games; they get far more out of them because they are playing against better players at better facilities.

"We have had some great reserve games so far against Hibs, Hearts, Rangers and Celtic. That is what we see as the way forward to arrange them when we have the numbers to arrange them, rather than having to fulfil games as we did last year, when the call offs left us a bit stuck players wise. It is beneficial for our young boys to be playing with our experienced players as well. They are learning all the time."

Jim McIntyre has said several times that winning breeds confidence, he was asked if there was a big difference in comparison to last season:-

"I think if you ask any of the boys they would say that the spirit is exactly the same as last season but when you are getting the results to match that spirit, it definitely makes it a happier place. The tests for me are not when you are winning but when we hit a bit of adversity and when we are not getting things all our own way and when injuries kick in. That will be the real test to see how we handle things. We have to keep taking the positives and keep winning."