FORMER Morton midfielder Jim McAlister says he would love to come back to the Ton and help fire them into the Premiership.

The 32-year-old, who made over 200 appearances for the Greenock side over eight years at Cappielow, was released by English League One side Blackpool after three seasons with the Seasiders.

The ex-Hamilton and Dundee player is now looking for a move closer to home after moving back to Scotland and wants to reignite his passion for the game after a difficult spell at Blackpool.

McAlister told the Tele: “I’ve always said from the day I left I’d love for the opportunity to come back again.

“I served them for just under eight years and I always said I would want to contribute to a club for 10 years, not many players get the opportunity to do that nowadays.

“I loved my time at Morton. 

“For someone who was 17 years old, to play through all the leagues, winning the Third Division in my first six months at the club and then finally going through the second and getting back into the First Division, it was a great experience.

“I’ve spoken to Warren Hawke [Morton’s chief executive] at dinners and events, and from talking to him the club sounds like it’s going in the right direction.

“They seem to be ambitious, and if the club is going to be ambitious and aim for the Premiership then it would definitely be something I would love to be a part of.

“I want to get back to enjoying football again, that’s the most important thing and we’ll take things from there.”

The Rothesay-born player was frustrated with his last few years at Blackpool, after suffering several long-term injuries, limiting his action on the pitch over the last 14 months.

He added: “Looking back I could count on one hand the amount of games I’d missed through injury over 13 years, and to get your leg broken in a game is just one of those things. I was back playing early on in the season and I was playing in January.

“I played in a cup game back in January, and then a few days later me and one of my team-mates clashed badly in training.

“Fortunately it was just bad bone bruising, but it set me back until the end of the season.”

But McAlister is back raring to go again, and is working on his fitness to ensure he can hit the ground running during pre-season.

He said: “A lot of managers might judge players when they go over 30, that’s just the way football is and legs won’t be an issue for me. 

“As long as I steer clear of injuries I could quite comfortably keep playing until I’m around 40.

“If I need to go into somewhere during pre-season to prove my fitness then I don’t have any problem with that, but hopefully something will come up before then.”