MICHAEL Tidser reckons neither he nor his team-mates can afford to let their standards slip — or run the risk of losing their spot in the starting 11.

Tidser has been in decent form so far this term and is enjoying a good spell after missing parts of last season due to the form of then-midfield partnership of Andy Murdoch and Jamie Lindsay.

But the 27-year-old insists he and the rest of the squad need to be consistent to make sure they hold on to their jerseys after a 1-0 defeat to Falkirk on Saturday.

He told the Tele: “We have a strong squad here at Morton and in training every day it’s competitive because everybody knows they’re vying for a jersey. 

“You can’t let your standards slip. 

“That, I think, is good for the manager because it obviously gives him a headache. And the players know themselves that if they’re not at it, they’ll not be playing.

“It has kind of settled down after injuries and things like that and there are good players here who are all settled. We can hurt teams and that’s the way the manager does things, he’s clever like that.

“We’ve got boys still to come back from injury as well, so no matter who plays we have a strong starting 11.”

On his own form, Tidser — who missed the Falkirk loss through illness — said: “I’m happy, I’m enjoying my football. I’ve had a good run in the team and I enjoy playing under the manager, with my team-mates, and I enjoy playing for the club. Long may that continue.”