MORTON skipper Lee Kilday admits he felt pressure during Saturday’s game against Dumbarton at Cappielow — because he was worried that fans would rather have Gavin Gunning at the heart of the defence than 
him.

Kilday lost his place in the starting 11 to the Irishman after he suffered an ankle injury earlier in the campaign, and 25-year-old Gunning went on to cement himself as a key player in Jim Duffy’s squad and become a cult hero amongst supporters.

While Kilday accepts Gunning brought a lot to the team before his departure to Grimsby Town last week, he still feels the disappointment of being dropped to the subs bench.

But the 24-year-old has vowed to keep his head down and work hard to re-establish himself — and prove he’s just as good as Gunning.

Speaking exclusively to the Tele, Kilday said: “It was very difficult. It’s been a hard time for me but Thomas [O’Ware] and Gavin did very well.

"Gavin is obviously away now so that gives me a chance, but to try and keep myself mentally right, it was difficult at times.

“Sometimes my head would go down over the last few months but I just tried to keep my head right in training and do what I had to do to wait for my chance.

“Gavin was a great guy in the changing room he was always laughing and joking. 

“He was a good person to have around the club because he was great out on the pitch as well. He will be a big loss.

“But myself and Ricki [Lamie] can play at centre-half as well and I felt on Saturday that I had a bit of a point to prove. Almost like ‘listen, I’m still here’. 

“Obviously I didn’t think I did too well at the weekend there but I think I can be as good as what I had been before my injuries.

“It’s hard to see all that stuff. Going back into the team I felt there was a bit of pressure on me. Everyone is obviously gutted that Gav is away, and I felt like maybe they’d rather have him here than me.

“But I need to keep my head down and working hard and hopefully I can show the fans that I’m just as good.”

Kilday was delighted to be back in the starting 11 for the 2-1 win over Dumbarton on Saturday, but believes he can do better.

He said: “It was nice to be back in the team and get the victory. It’s been maybe a couple of months since I’ve played 90 minutes and I think you could see it was my first game back, because I didn’t play as well as I can.

“I was a bit disappointed in myself after the game but the main thing is that the team won and hopefully I can get a run of games now and get back to the level I know I can play at.”