MORTON forward Robert Thomson believes he and strike partners Gary Oliver and Bob McHugh will enjoy the freedom to score goals this season in a new attack-minded set-up.

Thomson has already bagged himself a couple of goals in pre-season against Stenhousemuir and Turriff United respectively, whilst McHugh has netted four in two and Oliver, too, has been a handful for the defenders. 

The former Dumbarton striker says there are promising signs for the season ahead following Ton’s impressive attacking displays in their friendly victories at Ochilview and The 
Haughs.

Whilst the 24-year-old believes the new 4-3-3 formation that boss Jim Duffy has been working on might take a bit more getting used to, he is confident that he and his fellow attackers can benefit from a more open approach that should allow for more opportunities to net for his new club.

He told the Tele: “Pre-season has been great, really enjoyable so far. 

“Obviously it’s always good to get the games done and I think the fact that we’ve had quite a few games before the first competitive ones start is really good.

“You always find pre-season games are a different tempo from competition because there’s nothing really at stake. 

“So it’s good to get back into the competitive action because it’s a different atmosphere.

“The new formation with three up front is slightly different from what I’m used to and it will obviously take a wee bit of getting used to. 

“It’s been the same formation every game, so it’s becoming a wee bit more natural with every game. It’ll just take a wee bit of time.

“You would think it would suit my game, with three attackers you would hopefully create more chances. 

“Only time will tell, really, but it’s been good so far and I’d hope it will lead to more goalscoring opportunities.

“Things have been great with Bob and Gary so far and I think that’s also down to the formation as well. 

“We’ve got a bit of freedom within that formation which has been working well so far. Hopefully that can continue.”

Having moved from Stevie Aitken’s part-time Dumbarton outfit to Cappielow this summer, it’s not just a new formation that Thomson has to get used to.

But the former Dundee United man says he’s coping well with the switch to full-time football.

He said: “I’ve been coping alright with the move from part-time to full-time. 

“The manager has been really good with us in training, the initial few days were just breaking-in days which I think helped a lot with the legs. 

“And with university not starting back again until September, I’ve been in every day getting more used to everything.”