JIM Duffy says his Morton stars are bracing themselves for an intense run-in to the season.

Ton begin the first of three difficult away matches in the space of seven days later today, as they travel to play Falkirk.

Ton will be back in action on Tuesday, when they head along the M8 to play Livingston.

And they’ll continue their difficult trip on the road this time next week when they head to the Kingdom of Fife to play Dunfermline at East End Park.

And while manager Duffy will only take it one game at a time, he knows consistency is key if Ton are to add to their points tally.

He said: “Generally speaking, that ‘2 to 8’ mark in the league will see fluctuating results week in, week out, so it’s just about who has that bit of consistency in the last quarter and we are getting close to the last quarter.

“It’s going to be a really tough spell. And with games being postponed there are going to be games that we’ll have to squeeze in further down the line.

“We have three games coming up in the space of a week, then we have a breather for a week or so.

“Then it’s another three games, so it’s going to be an intense end to the season. 

“But when players get to this stage, it’s all about the appetite for the job and you have got to look forward to that challenge.”

Duffy hopes to not only keep ahead of the chasing pack, but also try to chip away at the teams who sit above Ton in the division.

He said: “You always want to try to move forward, that’s the target in football but it’s not always easy to do.

“Sometimes you have to take the knocks and regroup and get back on track again but you always want to try to keep ahead of the pack.

“It’s not easy. Every other team has their objective but we’ll just try to tick the games off one at a time and keep adding to the points tally.

“Then, in five or six weeks, we’ll look at it again and see where we are and see what we can do from there on in.”