GRANT Adam says Saturday’s Scottish Cup tie against Albion Rovers demanded his utmost concentration – but insists this weekend’s home match with Hibs will be no different.

The mix of torrential rain and a quagmire of a pitch made for treacherous conditions for both goalkeepers at Cliftonhill.

Adam coped admirably, however, barely putting a foot wrong as he combined sound handling with bravery and superb shot stopping to shut out Albion Rovers.

The custodian, who has started Morton’s last five matches, says absolute focus was crucial to the cup success, but added that it is a fundamental requirement for every game between the sticks.

He told the Tele: “It was terrible out there [on Saturday].

“We went to a difficult place to go in the circumstances and got through to the next round of the cup, which is great. I was happy to get another clean sheet.

“At the end of the day I’m there to make saves and I made a few good ones and we got the result we wanted.

"It was difficult conditions for a goalkeeper, the weather and the playing surface. You need to be careful with the way you try to kick and stuff like that and you need to be brave.

“And the thing is with the rain and the state of the pitch, as a goalkeeper you’ve got to concentrate throughout the 90 minutes, 95 minutes or [however long is added on].

“But, listen, every game you play you’ve got to concentrate no matter what. It isn’t any different against Albion Rovers to how it will be this Saturday.”

Adam’s focus was clear from the first whistle, and what made his almost faultless performance all the more impressive was the fact he came into the game off the back of a mistake.

It was in the derby draw against St Mirren that the 24-year-old shot-stopper fumbled a Scott Agnew corner and allowed Jack Baird to head in the opening goal at the far post.

Adam, though, did not allow the error to prey on his mind and revealed he was able to instantly put it behind him and move on.

He explained: “I made a mistake the other week but that’s part and parcel of football. I looked at it, analysed it and took what I could do better from it and moved on.

“Look at all the best keepers in the world, they all make mistakes, and I’m no different. But if you make a mistake, you get on with it. I think you could see this week that I didn’t let it bother me.

“You need to do that, to put it behind you right away – you can’t dwell on it, because if you dwell on it then the next time a ball comes in you might make another mistake.”

Meanwhile, Rangers have given Morton the green light to extend Luca Gasparotto’s loan deal beyond January dependent on the player himself agreeing to renew the move.

Manager Jim Duffy told the Tele: “Rangers have said they are more than happy for the player to stay on loan at Morton and we’d be happy to have him but I still have to discuss the situation with Luca.”