ANDY Murdoch insists putting pen to paper on a contract extension at Cappielow was a no-brainer after enjoying a brilliant first year at Morton.

Murdoch was a stalwart in the Ton engine room this season and became an immediate fans’ favourite for his constant hassling of opposition players and his work ethic.

The ex-Rangers man is delighted to sign on the dotted line before he jets off to Thailand this summer to recharge the batteries - but he maintains that he’ll be prepped and ready to go for pre-season. 

He told the Tele: “I’m happy to have signed the new contract. 

“I just wanted to get it all sorted before the new season starts, so it was good to get it all done.

“It’s nice to see when the supporters give you a good response as well. You see these things on Facebook and Twitter and it’s great to see.

“I wanted it all done before I went away on holiday and we’ve sorted it quite quickly, so that was important. 

“There was no waiting around, I just wanted to get it finished. 

“I’m going to Asia, Thailand, so it should be decent to go there now that that’s all completed. 

“There will be a lot of walking, that’s for sure, but I’ll be ready for pre-season.

“The gaffer offered the new contract after the play-offs because I think he just wanted to be fully concentrated on that which is fair enough, then we started talking deals and things after.

“I was always happy to stay on, to be honest, and he said he wanted to keep me here. 

“So both of us were happy where we were and what we wanted to do so we agreed on it.

“It’s been a really good season, getting to the semi-final and doing really well in the league. 

“And hopefully next season we can build on that and start going places. 

“That was a reason to stay and we’ve got a really good changing room, the boys are great. 

“So it was an easy choice to stay.”

Murdoch will be without his midfield mate Jamie Lindsay next campaign and the 22-year-old admits he’ll miss their partnership. 

But he hopes the Celtic ace can return to Parkhead and make an impact at his parent club.

He said: “It will be different not having Jamie in the midfield beside me next season but it’ll be fine I’m sure. 

“The partnership worked well this season and I enjoyed playing with him a lot.

“He’s a really good player, so I hope he does well when he’s back at Celtic.”