BEN Armour says he wants to shake off the ‘young boy tag’ and make himself a key part of Morton’s first team.

The 20-year-old has featured for the Ton 13 times so far, all from the bench, since making his debut back in September 2016.

The striker has been introduced as a substitute twice so far this season and came close to scoring at the weekend in a
2-0 win over Stenhousemuir.

The forward wants to give new manager Ray McKinnon food for thought when he’s picking his team in the next couple of months.

Armour told the Tele: “It’s a challenge for myself and the likes of Ruaridh [Langan] as some of the fans and maybe some of the players still see us as young boys.

“It’s a challenge to shake off that young boy tag and be seen as a first-team player and a contender, which is one of my goals this season.

“Over the next couple of months I want to give the manager a question in his mind, should I be playing, and give him a headache for his team selection.”

Armour was part of the under-20s side last season that went on to win the Development League West in the final game of the campaign against Ayr United.

Had they lost or drawn, the young Ton side wouldn’t have won the league trophy and they had to withstand heavy pressure in the second half as they clung onto their 1-0 lead at Cappielow to secure the title.

Armour says experiencing a pressure situation like that will stand him and his under-20s team-mates in good stead for the future.

He added: “It was brilliant. In the first half of the season we were consistent, which was what we wanted to be.

“To get over the line and win it was brilliant, I know a few of the boys won it two years ago but it was a great night and I felt we thoroughly deserved it.

“In that under-20s league there are a lot of other teams that played four or five first team players every week, but I felt particularly in the second half of the season, there were a lot of younger players, some coming from the under-17s.

“We had a really young team with us to come through and win the league, it was a great achievement and a great night.

“For me personally it was the first trophy I’d won at under-20 level, it was a great experience and that game against Ayr United was a must-win.

“It wasn’t really an under-20s game, I felt there was a lot more on the line for it and it was certainly a great experience to play in that sort of environment.”