ANDY Murdoch says Morton are desperate to get back to winning ways after picking up just two points from their last five games — and insists they’ll have to shape up soon or run the risk of losing their play-off spot.

Murdoch netted his first goal for Morton at Cappielow on Tuesday night against Renfrewshire derby rivals St Mirren, but the Greenock men went on to lose by a convincing 4-1 scoreline on a night to forget.

The former Rangers midfield ace insists the Ton need to step up their game and remember how to win.

Ton have performed admirably so far this season, and until Tuesday night were sitting third with a game in hand over second-placed Falkirk.

But defeat to the Buddies, coupled with a win for Dundee United over Dunfermline at Tannadice, saw the Sinclair Street side fall to fourth with a difficult run-in still to come.

Murdoch told the Tele: “It was a disappointing result on Tuesday, we didn’t perform to the standards we’ve set this season and the gaffer made that clear to us at full-time. 

“We have to move forward now.

“I hope it’s just a minor blip. I hope it’s a bad patch that we are in just now. We’re obviously also wanting to get ourselves out of it and back to the way we were playing earlier on in the season.

“Training had been the same and it wasn’t expected, but we just weren’t good enough on Tuesday night, put it that way.

“We need to get back to the way things were. Hopefully we can manage to get a few good results in before the season’s finished and then go from there. But it’s still a long way away. 

“It’s still a good thing to be in the play-off position, but if we continue like that — it’s just not good enough.”

The 22-year-old engine room runner admits Tuesday’s result couldn’t have come at a worse time, against a worse opponent, and he acknowledged the supporters’ frustrations.

He said: “I imagine the supporters will be understandably disappointed, it was a really bad game to lose. 

“Especially in this style, because it was a derby and fans have expectations. They obviously wanted us to do well but unfortunately it was just a poor performance.”

Of the first goal of his Morton career, Murdoch said: “It was good at the time to get my first goal and what was the equaliser. 

“But in the end it didn’t really count for anything so I won’t be making much of it.”