MORTON stopper Derek Gaston admits he’s happy being back in the starting lineup — but says the feeling is bittersweet as his return comes at the expense of his pal and team-mate Andrew McNeil.

Gaston replaced McNeil as a late sub in Morton’s 1-0 victory over Raith Rovers on Saturday, after the latter suffered a painful boot to the face - resulting in him receiving two stitches under his right eye.

And the sub made a crucial last-minute save to deny Declan McManus from a free-kick and help seal another three points at Cappielow, to continuing Morton’s impressive home form in the Championship.

Gaston told the Tele: “It’s good getting back into the team whether you’re playing one minute or 90 minutes. It’s good to be on the park to contribute to the performances and results.

“Andy has obviously taken a sore one to the face on Saturday, and you obviously never wish that on anyone let alone a team-mate. But fortunately we’ve got the weekend off this week so hopefully that means Andy will be able to recover in time for the game in a fortnight.

“It will then just be back to the way it was at the weekend there and previous weeks where it’ll be up to the manager with the team selection.”

Gats reckons it’s unusual in this day and age for teams to have two accomplished goalkeepers in their squads, as the tightening of purse-strings usually results in outfield players becoming priority for a lot of clubs. 

“But the 29-year-old says Jim Duffy’s decision to keep hold of both players shows the importance in having two seasoned pros available, and he knows neither stopper can afford to rest on their laurels — or risk losing their place.

He said: “I think a lot of teams with the tightening of budgets and things like that, they don’t want to spend as much money so they go with one first choice goalkeeper and a younger goalie to come in if necessary.

"But our manager has decided to go with two more experienced goalkeepers and we’ve got a good young guy like Jamie [McGowan] pushing us on as well.

“It’s a good thing to have, both of us can help each other and we can’t afford to be complacent or we’ll be out the team.”