JIM Duffy says he faces a real selection dilemma for Sunday’s clash with Rangers — despite the fact he will be without several key players for the trip to Ibrox.

Star striker Gary Oliver has joined fellow frontman Jai Quitongo on the sidelines while long-term casualty Conor Pepper and the cup-tied  Lawrence Shankland, below inset, will both be unavailable.

Duffy reckons if the shoe was on the other foot, everyone would be talking about how much of a problem the home side would have without several of their key men. 

But he says that the players who are fit are all itching to play, giving him tough decisions to make after Tuesday’s fine 1-0 win over Raith Rovers.

Speaking exclusively to the Tele, Duffy said: “Lawrence is cup-tied, Jai is out, Gary is out, Conor is out.

“It would be a difficult game with everyone available — so it’s even more difficult with all these guys unavailable.

“If Rangers were without three or four key players, people would be thinking ‘there’s a wee doubt here’.

“But we’re missing key players which makes our job even more difficult.

“When you’ve got a game at Ibrox, it can be quite daunting. But when you’re involved in these challenges, you always want to test yourself — you want to do yourself justice and be as competitive as you can be.

“Sunday’s game whets the appetite for the players and everyone wants to be involved. I’ve certainly got food for thought when it comes to picking the team.”

Duffy says Ton will look to make things as awkward as possible for the Premiership side but he acknowledges that they are facing a very difficult 90 minutes against Mark Warburton’s men.

He said: “The game being at Ibrox makes it different from if it were at Cappielow. Home advantage would have been good for us, and the game would have been played on a tighter pitch.

“But it’s a different proposition. It’s a huge pitch and will no doubt be in great condition. Ultimately we want to make it uncomfortable for Rangers.

“We’ll have the opportunity to showcase our talent, but we have to be organised, disciplined and concentration has to be spot on.”

Morton have been something of cup specialists in recent times, having reached two quarter-finals last season before a fantastic run in the Betfred Cup this term took them all the way to the semi-final stage where they lost 2-0 to Aberdeen.

The Ton boss says his players revel in the cup tie environment and have been boosted even more by their midweek 1-0 victory in Kirkcaldy, a win which saw them bounce back from a disappointing weekend defeat to Queen of the South.

Duffy said: “Any cup run brings a bit of extra spotlight and profile. The players enjoy that spotlight and the media attention these matches bring.

“We’ve drawn a lot of Premiership teams in these ties and we’ve done well. We’ll try to continue that but it will be an extremely difficult task at Ibrox.

“The last few months we’ve been consistent and after Tuesday night we’ll go into the game in a better frame of mind than we might have been in after Saturday.

“It’s always important if you go to a place like Ibrox to go in a positive frame of mind as opposed to being in a sticky spell.”

The manager also quashed the well-worn notion that as underdogs there is ‘no pressure’ on his side on Sunday.

He said: “There’s almost a bit of tension and expectation from within our own camp to play to the best of our ability. There’s been a lot of outside talk about ‘occasions’.

“But you can only enjoy the occasion if you do well.

“Yes, Morton are not expected to win this game. But we have our own responsibility to try and win.”