MORTON manager Jim Duffy says his side’s basic mistakes this season have cost them their chance of making the play-offs.

Ton’s slim odds of reaching the top four ended on Saturday when St Mirren took the Renfrewshire derby spoils, winning 2-1 at the Paisley 2021 Stadium.

It added to an already miserable day for Morton supporters, who headed for the exits early in Paisley at the weekend, with Saints being presented the Championship trophy after the game.

And while the Ton boss conceded his squad have been hampered by long-term injuries to key players, he was reluctant to use that as an excuse.

He told the Tele: “We’ve have had severe injuries to key players, but I think we’ve got good enough players to play better.

“I’m not saying we should have won the league, but I think we could have been a bit more consistent.

“We’ve had too many times where we’ve made elementary errors, and that’s cost us vital points throughout the 
season.

“Saturday was symptomatic of that, like a lot of other games we put a lot into it and we’ve not got much from it.”

The Buddies started the game better on Saturday, and took the lead via Danny Mullen 10 after minutes, but Michael Doyle equalised for the visitors at the half-hour mark.

Morton played well, but were then caught on the counter, with Greenock-born Lewis Morgan sealing the win for the hosts on 72 minutes.

Duffy was left frustrated at his side’s mistakes proving costly again, in a game the manager thought they deserved to take at least a point from.

He added: “I’m bitterly disappointed we lost. In the first 15 minutes St Mirren played well and scored, we looked a bit caught up in the occasion.

“But once we settled we started playing well. We scored a terrific goal, we hit the bar as well and should have scored another goal and I thought we dominated for large periods of the game.

“Then we made a horrendous mistake for the second goal, and after that you’re chasing the game, and with the pace and quality St Mirren have got, they tried to capitalise on the game.

“I don’t think we deserved to lose that, but all credit to St Mirren.”

The Buddies have topped the table in each of the four quarters this year, and it’s that reliability which has seen them clinch their return to the Scottish Premiership.

And Duffy believes their steadiness has been their greatest asset this year, something his own side have lacked.

He said: “They’ve been outstandingly consistent, and that’s been the biggest difference between them and everyone else.

“Other teams have got good players, and on their day they can spring a few surprises, but to be consistent as them over the course of the season takes a lot of doing, so we fully congratulate them.

“We put so much into the game but we made too many basic errors and those lapses have cost us in several games this year and Saturday was evident of that, it was a similar situation.

“We’ll gather our thoughts, we’ve got our last game next week and then we’ll have a rethink during the summer.”