REECE Hands has been out of action for seven months but remains confident he can rediscover the form that saw him get his Morton career off to a flying start.

The former Blackburn Rovers midfielder made an instant impression with the Cappielow club by scoring with a stunning strike in last year’s Renfrewshire Cup final romp against St Mirren.

He followed that up with four goals in his first eight matches as he took to life in Scottish football’s second tier like a duck to water.

But his progress came to an abrupt halt due to a pelvic problem that flared up in the shock League Cup win over Celtic in September.

The 20-year-old made just four more appearances all season and cut an at times forlorn figure around Parklea and Cappielow. However, he insists those dark days are behind him and that he is ready and raring to go after making his first start of the current campaign against Berwick Rangers last Saturday.

He told the Tele: “It was tough times with my injuries last year but now I’ve got a clear head and focused on doing well.

“It felt good to be back. I’ve been out a long time so it was nice to play. I was buzzing to be back and to get my first start.

“I wasn’t surprised to start, no, because I’ve been training hard five times a week and getting more involved and feeling confident. I think the gaffer could see that.

“Coming back, I obviously need more games to get back into the flow of things, but I can’t put a point on when I think I’m going to be back to my best.

“I’ve just got to take it day by day in training and game by game to keep building up my fitness. I was unfit at the start of the season but have got myself to a decent level now. The aim is to get stronger and stronger, because I feel I can definitely go up a level from my performance against Berwick Rangers. In my mind, I know I can play better.

“I just need to get into the swing of things and hopefully continue to get fitter and stronger and make more of an impact on games.

“At this moment in time I was just wanting to ease myself back into things and try to keep it simple and do things right.

“At the end of the day I’m just happy to be back on the pitch and playing for Morton again. And it went well to be fair because we ended up winning. I was delighted about that.” Morton kick-off their league campaign with a trip to Ayr United this afternoon and Hands says confidence is high in the Ton camp.

He added: “We have won our two cup games and that has been important, of course it has. They were lower league teams but you can only beat the opposition that is in front of you.

“Teams do struggle against lower league opposition in the cups at times, so we’ve got to be happy that we’ve got two wins under our belts.

“It’s also meant that we go into the first game of the season with confidence — everything is really positive at the moment.

“And we want to build on it and make our start even better by hopefully picking up a win today against Ayr United.”