Greacen: cup can provide impetus

Published 26 Nov 2009 14:00

Stewart Greacen hopes a run in the Scottish Cup can kickstart Morton's season.

The Cappielow men have scored nine goals in the past two league games and the Ton captain hopes they can take that excellent form into Saturday's third round tie against Second Division Dumbarton.

He said: "It's always good to get a cup run. We have not done great in my time here, although we had one good run in 2006-07 when we beat Kilmarnock.

"Dumbarton had a poor start to the season but they have picked up recently and are now one of the form teams in the Second Division.

"We beat them 1-0 at the start of the season [in a Challenge Cup tie at the end of July] but there wasn't much between the sides." Greacen played in the Ton side in January 2007 that pulled off a major shock by beating Premier League Kilmarnock 3-1 in the Scottish Cup.

Despite the fact that they exited the tournament at the next stage to Motherwell, Greacen has fond memories of overcoming the Rugby Park side at Cappielow.

"Chris Templeman was virtually unplayable that day and scored two goals," said Greacen.

"We were in the Second Division then and Kilmarnock were probably better than they are just now. They certainly had more household names, so it was a big surprise.

"The good thing about a cup run is that it gives you an added boost financially. If you manage to get through this round and draw a Rangers or Celtic then it's a bonus. A result like that can also help your form in the league, which is our main priority."

After a faltering start to the

season, Ton have started to turn it around under the leadership of James Grady and Allan McManus. A 5-0 victory over Raith Rovers was followed by Saturday's 4-2 win against Airdrie United.

Successive victories have allowed them to open up a six-point gap between themselves and second bottom Ayr, and an eight-point margin over Airdrie.

The two matches have also witnessed a return to goalscoring form for strikers Brian Wake and Peter Weatherson.

The former has struck four times, while the latter has struck twice. "It's been great for the confidence to get a couple of victories," added Greacen.

"We've struggled to score this season and all of a sudden we have scored nine goals in two games. Peter [Weatherson] and Brian [Wake] have done brilliant.

"I think the goals they scored against Raith were great for their confidence."

Greacen also believes that the players are starting to come to terms with Grady and McManus' philosophies.

"They have their own ideas and are looking for us to play a bit more football.

"One of the big differences has been our full backs.

"In the past it has maybe been centre halves or midfielders at full back, but Alan Reid and David Van Zanten have come in and are natural full backs who are comfortable on the ball."

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This article appeared in Greenock Telegraph 26 Nov 09

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