ROBERT Thomson says he’s looking forward to coming up against familiar faces this afternoon — but that all pleasantries will end on the whistle for kick-off.

Ton face Dumbarton away, the team where Thomson enjoyed a successful season last term before he penned a pre-contract agreement in Greenock. 

The striker has very fond memories of his time at the Rock under former manager Stevie Aitken.

He admits that while he’ll enjoy the opportunity to shake hands and chat with ex-team-mates pre and post-match, he’ll only have three points for his new club on his mind when the game begins.

He told the Tele: “I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Dumbarton so it’ll be good to go back and see a few familiar faces, but I’m eager to get the games up and running for Morton now.

“I’ve done that before, playing against previous clubs, it’s part and parcel of moving on in football. 

“Dumbarton boys still keep in contact. 

“A lot of the boys have moved on but I still also keep in touch with Stevie Aitken when I see him, so it’ll be good to go back and play there.

“But as soon as the game starts it’s about trying to get the three points for Morton.”

When asked if it might be an advantage to have played against the Sons defenders every day in training last season, Thomson replied: “I think if you look at the Dumbarton team now, the majority of the players are relatively new.

“And the Morton boys who were here last year, they played against Dumbarton four times so everyone is aware of what we’ll be up against. 

“It’s always going to be a tough game and I think we all know that.”

Thomson netted his first and second competitive goals for Morton last weekend against Edinburgh City and he told of his delight at finally doing so.

Despite Ton being unable to progress to the knockout stages of the Betfred Cup, the 24-year-old is hopeful that last week’s 5-0 rout of the League Two outfit can boost confidence ahead of the Ladbrokes Championship curtain raiser.

He said: “The League Cup campaign obviously didn’t go to plan because we didn’t qualify but we managed to end it on a high and hopefully we can carry that into the first game of the league season tomorrow.

“It’s always pleasing to get your first goal and then to get my second as well playing for a new club. 

“That takes a wee bit of pressure off and I’ll be hoping to kick on from there.”