ANDY Murdoch was proud when he heard that manager Jim Duffy wasn’t planning on strengthening his midfield during this transfer window — because it reaffirms his thoughts that the Morton engine room is in terrific shape as it is.

Duffy exclusively told the Tele earlier this month that he was not in the market for any position other than a forward, because he believes Ton are strong in all departments — especially the midfield.

Murdoch has been an influential figure in the middle of the park this season for Ton, an inspired piece of transfer business by his manager.

Alongside Celtic loanee Jamie Lindsay, he has continued to impress his gaffer and Ton supporters in the Cowshed.

Murdoch is thrilled with his boss’s comments.

He told the Tele: “It’s always nice to hear positive feedback like that. [Michael] Tidser, Jamie and myself all do our best when we play and I think the gaffer knows that. He knows that we’ll always give it everything and do our best for the team.

“I’ve heard a few things about the fans being happy with the way things are going as well. As long as they’re happy, that’s good enough for me.”

Murdoch says Morton fear nobody in the Ladbrokes Championship, and he insists results at home this season illustrate why this is the case.

He continued: “The team, I think, game by game have gained more and more confidence in ourselves. We just started to believe that we are good enough to get results against the top teams in the league.

“The Hibs game [at Cappielow] and the games against Dundee United showed that. They are always good games to play and if you take points from them, that gives you confidence.”

Asked if making the play-offs was a realistic goal, he replied: “Yeah, I hope so. Right now, we’re taking it game by game. It’s January and anything can happen.

"Teams can find players who can change their season, so we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. It’ll always be game-by-game for me.”