JIM Duffy has thrown down the gauntlet ahead of this afternoon’s Renfrewshire derby by insisting his players don’t need any extra motivation to secure a win over St Mirren in Paisley.

Morton travel to the Paisley 2021 Stadium today in high spirits after a good week in training and Duffy is adamant his troops are ready to give everything to come away with the points.

He told the Tele: “These are the matches you look forward to, they’re the ones that get the adrenaline going and you certainly don’t need to psyche the players up for it.

“There’s always a terrific atmosphere at home or away and it’s a game in our division that is one of the highlights of the season. It’s the game when you look at the calendar you think ‘right, when are the derby matches’. I think at 3pm on a Saturday is also great because it’s traditional, we’ll go to Paisley with a big crowd and it’ll be a good atmosphere.

“The only intention is to go and do ourselves justice and if we do that we’ll see whether we get enough breaks to win the match.”

Duffy believes Saints will pose a different threat to Ton than the previous two fixtures, after his side enjoyed the lion’s share of possession against Brechin and Dumbarton respectively.

He doesn’t expect the same comfort against Jack Ross’s outfit and praised the Buddies for their consistent form in the league so far.

He said: “Dumbarton and Brechin were very well organised and didn’t allow us too much space, but I’m sure St Mirren will be a little bit more cavalier in their approach and they’ll certainly take the game to us.

"There’s no question about that. They’re on a good run of form and they’ll go into the game with a lot of confidence. But I’ve said before when we play at our best we’re a match for anyone, including St Mirren.”

Ton hammered Saints 4-1 earlier this season at Cappielow but Duffy isn’t one for looking back. Instead the manager chooses to focus all his energy and attention on the upcoming game.

He said of the last game back in August: “A positive result is always good for the fans, good for the club. 

“But for me personally that game is gone. 

“You can’t afford to look back, and what’s done is done.

You’re always judged by your most recent results and by recent form.

“I’m concerned about today’s game which is always the case, really. You approach the match with a single-minded determination to get a positive result in the upcoming game as opposed to thinking about how the last game went.”