THOMAS O’Ware swaggered off the Cappielow turf on Saturday evening after helping his side dish out a stunning 4-1 thrashing of rivals St Mirren — and he says it was the easiest derby he’s ever starred in.

O’Ware skippered Morton during the rout and came through his first game since the end of last season with little difficulty against a usually boisterous pairing of John Sutton and Gavin Reilly.

While the 24-year-old understands that gaffer Jim Duffy took a risk by starting him in such a high-stakes fixture, he was always feeling confident before kick-off.

He told the Tele: “I’ve been out for two or three months so I knew there were going to be eyes on me. I knew the gaffer was taking a risk by playing me. 

“But to win the game like we did meant a lot. I’ve a lot of thanks for the gaffer playing me, I’m very happy that the game went the way it did.

“In my eyes though it wasn’t a risk. I knew my body was ready to go, I felt fit and I felt ready. 

“It might have been a risk in the fact that the gaffer had to take out Connor McManus who had done nothing wrong. The night before the game I was a wee bit nervous before I got to sleep.

“But as soon as I got to training before kick-off I just couldn’t wait for the game to start. And it was an emphatic performance from the boys. Definitely one of the easiest derbies — and games — I’ve ever played in.”

O’Ware believes Morton will be seen as underdogs again this term, but that the squad prefer that title. 

He insists that, despite a 2-0 loss in the Irn-Bru Cup first round to Livingston on Tuesday night, his side can prosper in the Championship again this season.

He added: “We knew we had a score to settle from the last time we played St Mirren at Cappielow. And a lot of people have spoken about St Mirren and Dundee United being the favourites this season.

“So we’ll be underdogs again, and that’s the way we like it. We used it to our advantage on Saturday and we’ll continue to do so. Saturday was an important three points to get to put us in a healthy position. 

“We’re on four points so although it was a derby and it settled a few scores, it was just important to get the three points.”