CONOR Pepper can’t wait for another crack at St Mirren and admits Morton couldn’t have asked for a better fixture to kickstart the 2016-17 Championship campaign.

The SPFL released the new league schedule on Friday, and leaping off the list was a rare opening-day Renfrewshire derby.

Ton are without a competitive win over their arch-rivals since 1999 and saw that extended to 17 years of hurt after failing to come out on top in any of the four clashes last term.

Pepper does not look to the history books for his motivation but simply seeks to avenge last season’s inability to defeat the Saints, particularly because he felt Ton were a better side.

He told the Tele: “It’s going to be a good one, definitely one to look forward to, and I think it’s a good thing. What better way to kick off your campaign than a big derby like that?

“It’s a really good test for both of us to suss each other out and maybe see where we both are for the season.

“Because we’re newer players, that [the 17-year wait for a derby win] is more something that the fans are thinking about. Obviously most of us have only played them four times, so I’m not thinking in my head: ‘I’ve got a hoodoo against St Mirren’.

“And I’m sure a lot of the rest of the boys will think that way because they’re relatively new signings, with the exception of maybe Tam O’Ware and Michael Tidser.

“I think we were a better side than St Mirren last year — the league table doesn’t lie at the end of the season – and were maybe a bit unlucky in a couple of the games.

“You want to win every game, but derbies have a lot to do with pride, and we know we should have got better results against them.

“That was especially the case in the first game against them at Cappielow when the keeper [Jamie Langfield] got man of the match.

“We could have taken three or four off them that day, we had some really good chances – so it’s something we want to rectify next season.

“If we can go do that in the first game and get a good result, you take a lot of confidence into the next few games and try and kick on after that.”

Pepper suffered a freak knee injury at Easter Road back in February and missed the remainder of the season as a result.

Despite that misfortune, the 22-year-old insists he holds no psychological apprehension about a return and actively scanned the fixtures for trips to Edinburgh as well as Dundee United.

Pepper explained: “I love to play at different grounds and big grounds. I really enjoyed playing at Dunfermline’s ground so had a little look when we’re playing them away.

“I also had a look for Dundee United away. I’m looking forward to getting the chance to play at Tannadice, and that’s in September. Hibs is also a great stadium to play in.

“I love to play there, and one of my favourite moments, one I’ll never forget, was making my first senior start there and scoring my second goal there [for Inverness Caledonian Thistle].

“That ground was always somewhere I thought was a little bit special. Obviously the way they game went last time, we won 3-0, so it was still another special occasion for me.

“I did get injured but it was my first serious injury, so I haven’t really put much thought to going back for the first time since that. It’s something I’ll not know until I get there.”

Next term’s festive period has thrown up a unique double header, with the Ton scheduled to play on Christmas Eve and then Hogmanay.

Jim Duffy’s men host Queen of the South on December 24, which will be the first time the club have played on that date since drawing 1-1 with Forfar Athletic in 1988.

Coincidentally, the Loons also provided the opposition for the Sinclair Street side’s last outing on the final day of the year, the Ton winning 1-0 at Station Park in 2005.

This time out, Pepper and his team-mates will make the short journey to Paisley for the third derby of the campaign.

But the Irishman says he has no real personal preference when it comes to playing around Christmas time due to the fact that as a footballer it has never been a holiday period.

He said: “I think the Christmas fixture list is something you’ve always got to deal with as a player.

“I know a lot of people say that it should be scrapped and we should have a winter break like the rest of the countries – but I quite like it.

“It doesn’t really bother me playing on Christmas Eve or Hogmanay. When these days come round, you’ve never been able to go and enjoy yourself like the rest of your pals anyway.

“You’d maybe have a game the day before or on Boxing Day, so it doesn’t really matter what day it is.

“When those holidays come you’re not going to have a beer or you’re not going to have a night out because you’ve got a game that week.

“So there’s no real difference what day you play, you’re going to treat them the same. You’ve just got to get used to it as a footballer because it’s going to happen every year.”