NEW Morton loan signing Ross MacLean is hoping his form this season can earn him a permanent deal with the Ton.

The Motherwell winger’s current deal at the Fir Park side is until the end of the season, having signed his original contract under previous manager Mark McGhee.

But with Stephen Robinson at the helm now for the Well, MacLean has fallen out of favour due to Robinson playing a 3-5-2 formation, with wingers rarely featuring in his side.

MacLean is hoping for big things from himself this year, as he looks to get regular game-time under his belt, and hopes to impress manager Ray McKinnon.

He told the Tele: “It’s probably one of the biggest years of my career so far.

“Hopefully come the end of the season both Motherwell and Morton want to offer me deals so I’ve got options, that’s my aim.

“The formation that Robinson played at Motherwell doesn’t suit me, as he doesn’t play wingers.

“When I was speaking to Ray McKinnon last week he said to me he was looking to play three forwards up the top, and he was looking to play me off the left and he was wanting me to run in behind in the pockets, which would suit my game.

“I don’t feel pressure at all though. I’m looking forward to proving a point to people and I just can’t wait to get started.”

The 21-year-old has made 22 first team appearances for the Well, 11 of those last season.

It was the first season in a long time the winger had been able to go injury-free throughout the campaign, after dislocating his shoulder several times in previous years.

MacLean added: “I’ve had a terrible time with injuries. I dislocated my shoulder twice.

“I had to get an operation to get my shoulder pinned together two seasons ago and I broke my metatarsal against Kilmarnock when I’d just broken through the team with McGhee.

“I went the whole of last season injury free so hopefully I can go the full season again injury-free.”

Versatility is another big asset for MacLean at Morton, with the winger being able to cover a number of different positions.

During his time at Motherwell he’s managed to play in several roles.

He said: “I prefer playing on the left wing. I played most of my games under McGhee at left-wing. 

“I like cutting inside and you can take it down the line and cross it in from the left.

“I can play right wing as well as in the whole, I was playing there mostly for Motherwell last season as we didn’t play wingers.

“It doesn’t bother me where I play, I can play in the centre-mid and as a full-back as well with the under-20s and in the Betfred Cup games last season.”