MORTON left-back Lewis Strapp says he’s delighted that boss Jim Duffy has noticed his hard work by rewarding him with a full-time spot in the first-team squad.

Strapp has officially made the move from under-20s to the first-team and he believes his work ethic has been recognised by the management at Cappielow

And the defender is pleased to have caught the eye of his boss.

He told the Tele: “It’s great that the manager has been very helpful with me. 

“If he’s saying positive things he knows it will make me work harder as well. 

“He’s noticing the work I’m doing already and it’s good that he’s seeing that, it’s almost like ‘thank God’. 

“You’re working so hard, so for the manager to point it out it’s great to hear.

“It’s not just that he’s saying ‘that’s just Lewis’, he’s actually noticing how much work I’m putting in, which is good.”

The 17-year-old has enjoyed the transition from development squad to first-team and credits two seasoned pros for giving him advice on a regular basis.

He added: “Michael Tidser and Tam O’Ware have been great with advice since I joined up with the first-team squad permanently.

“Tids talks to you, I remember the cup game that I made my debut in, he was talking to me a lot and telling me the things I needed to hear before I went out.”

Strapp’s plans of making an instant impact on the first-team this season suffered a set-back when he was concussed during a pre-season friendly against Stenhousemuir. 

Despite the injury taking the wind out of his sails for a brief spell, the youngster insists it gave him an excuse to work even harder to force his way back into contention.

He said: “It’s all part of the game, these things happen. 

“But it was very disappointing to be out for two weeks because I wasn’t allowed to do any contact stuff in training. 

“It got to a stage where I felt fine but I knew myself that I didn’t want to do something even as simple as jump up for a header and then I’m out for another wee while.

“So I just had to deal with it, even though it was disappointing. 

“For it to come so soon in the season especially was disappointing. Last season I got to play some games in the cup and that meant I was hoping I’d be able to get some game time just now at the same stage this season. 

“So, for the concussion to happen, I was just thinking that I’d need to come back and work even harder.”