MORTON goalkeeper Ryan Scully is hoping to stake his claim for the number one jersey when the competitive action begins on Saturday.

The former Partick Thistle goalkeeper has started all of the Ton’s pre-season friendlies, with fellow shotstopper Derek Gaston out of action with a broken wrist.

Gaston may return for Saturday’s game against Ayr United depending on results from an X-ray this week, as the Greenock side begin their Betfred Cup group stage campaign.

But with the 31-year-old sidelined during pre-season, it means Scully is in pole position for the starting spot, and he ready to grab his chance against the Honest Men at the weekend.

He told the Tele: “It’s good to get the minutes under the belt just now and it’s a chance to dust off the cobwebs as I’ve not played in a while.

“I’ve not played much in the last couple of years so every game is beneficial for me, and it’s a big game for us on Saturday so I need to take my chance and stake my claim as number one.”

The 25-year-old is beggining his first season in just over a decade as a non-Jags player, after being with the Maryhill side since 2008.

While it’s taken him time to adjust to his new surroundings, he’s relishing life under new manager Ray McKinnon.

He added: “It’s nice to get the fresh start, getting to know a different set of players and the manager and the way they work, but it is a bit strange after playing a majority of my career at Partick.

“It will take a wee while to adjust, but I’m really enjoying myself so far.

“Pre-season’s not most footballers’ favourite time of the year, it’s a lot of hard work and never gets easier unfortunately.

“But it’s beneficial for the season, we all know we have to do it and now the competitive games are near we can get back to a bit more normality now.

“Ray’s got a clear idea of how he wants to play and what the set up is, we’ll continue to work on that over the next few weeks.”