MORTON’S Jim McAlister has paid tribute to former chairman Douglas Rae, saying the club would not be around today without him.

The honorary club president, who passed away following a period of ill health aged 87, saved the Ton back in 2001 from administration.

The successful Greenock businessman had a good rapport with McAlister when he signed his first professional deal back in 2002.

Then 17-years-old, the Rothesay-born midfielder travelled over from the Isle of Bute each day for training, and said Mr Rae’s generosity to personally help fund his travel is something he’s never forgotten.

He told the Tele: “He was a big part of my life when I first signed at Morton back in 2002.

“He seemed to take a shine to me, as I was a kid straight out of school and into the first team straight away.

“He was very generous to me and made sure I would get the odd cheque now and again.

“I travelled on the ferry over and effectively you were on an apprentice’s wage, he always looked after me and I’ve never forgotten that.”

“He’ll not just be a massive loss for the football club, but for the area as well.

“A lot of fans will be forever grateful for what he’s done for the club, and the predicament the club was in under the previous owners was pretty serious.

“Every year he would write a cheque for the football club, and he must have done that for so many years to keep the club going.”

McAlister recalled how during one pre-season Mr Rae came down, as he always did, to welcome the new players to Morton.

But in this particular year at Quarrier’s Village he stepped in to give the players a helping hand.

McAlister added: “He always liked to come up and welcome the new faces to the club, and this particular time we were just finishing up doing a session of core exercises.

“We were planking and he was straight around everyone saying, ‘You’re not doing this properly, you need to get your hips down’.

“But at this point he was, down on the ground with his suit and in his seventies showing everyone how it should be done. 

“That’s the type of guy he was.”

The midfielder described him as a colourful character, who often came into the dressing rooms before games to talk to the players.

He often tried to pass his wisdom to the players, and helped lighten the mood on a match day.

The 32-year-old said: “He’d always be in and around the dressing room before games giving players bits of advice.

“He’d always be in advising the players what he wanted them to do during the games, we used to have a chuckle with him when he came into the dressing room.

“When I signed back in 2002 I signed as a striker, and it was always shooting advice I got from him.”

Even after McAlister left the club in 2010 to join Hamilton, Mr Rae would always go out of his way to help the former Dundee player.

The midfielder was having a tough time of things shortly after his move to Accies, and on one match day the chairman dropped everything when he heard that McAlister was back at Cappielow taking in a game as a spectator.

He added: “I spoke to him not long after I left when I went to Hamilton, and the start of my time at Hamilton wasn’t particularly enjoyable.

“I was back at Cappielow to take in a game one day and somebody must have told him I was back, and he asked for me to come into the boardroom and we just chatted about football.

“He said if I was struggling for games I’d always be welcome back at the club.

“He didn’t need to take that time out of a match day to speak to me, but he didn’t forget about me and just wanted the best for me.

“He was a great guy. 

“Especially the way football is now, there are not a lot of honest men, that’s just a fact no matter where you go.

“But he was certainly honest and straight down the line, any promises he made he delivered on to boys down the years.

“He’ll be a huge loss and my thoughts are with all the family.”