MORTON goalkeeper Derek Gaston says more Ton players might leave if a new manager is not appointed soon.

Gaston was one of a number of players to be offered a new deal under previous manager Jim Duffy, but the 59-year-old left the club shortly after the season ended.

The club’s search for a replacement is well under way, with interviews with potential candidates beginning last week.

But until a new manager is brought in, the Ton have withdrawn all contract offers for their players over 23 due to run out in the summer, leaving large parts of the squad with uncertain futures until then.

Fans’ player of the year Gary Harkins, inset, left Morton last week to join Queen of the South, telling the Tele he couldn’t wait around with uncertainty hanging over his future.

And Gaston admitted that could happen to other players the longer it takes to appoint a new manager.

The goalkeeper told the Tele: “That’s the problem that Morton have just now, the longer they take to get a new manager in place.

“Other teams will be looking at their own squads thinking they need this type of player or we still need a goalkeeper, a defender or striker whose not signed up for a new team just yet.

“They might start to think the Morton striker, midfielder, defender or goalkeeper haven’t signed yet, so we’ll go and offer him a deal.

“The players can’t exactly hold off too long, there’s uncertainty with our own futures. If a certain team comes in and offers you a good deal, it’s difficult to hold off and say I wanted to stay at Morton and I’m going to hold off for another week or two and see if I can get a contract there.

“That offer from another team may only be around for a few days, and then you’re stuck in a situation where you can either go and sign for another club, or rely on the new manager wanting to keep you.

“You can end up missing out on both deals. It’s a difficult one to weigh up, it’s a big gamble just now.”

The goalkeeper is one of Morton’s longest serving players, after reaching a landmark 200 appearances this campaign.
And Gaston admitted it’s difficult having to wait around until a new manager is appointed.

He added: “It’s just a waiting game now to see whether the new manager comes in and if he wants to keep me.

“There’s just a bit of uncertainty just now and you don’t know what’s going to happen.

“All the players are in the same situation where you’ve just got to wait and see if the new manager wants to keep you on or not.

“Hopefully somebody is appointed in the near future so we can get our futures sorted, and enjoy our summer a bit more knowing we’ve got a job to go back to in for a few weeks.”