JIM Duffy says last Saturday’s win over Dunfermline has been consigned to the history books and that his squad must be ready to prove themselves all over again at Stenhousemuir tomorrow.

Morton enhanced their title credentials by recording an impressive victory over fellow full-timers and title favourites Dunfermline at Cappielow.

But Duffy insists it is imperative that his players always focus their energies on the match in front of them rather than dwell on the previous result, no matter if the outcome was positive or negative.

He told the Tele: “You don’t always get a good performance and a good result together.

“Sometimes you get a good performance but not the result and vice versa.

“So to get both elements last weekend was good — but like anything in football, you have to move on. You enjoy the moment, but that’s all it is: a moment.

“As a football manager you’ve got to keep a bit of perspective.

“Personally, I don’t get overly excited when we win and I don’t get overly despondent when we lose; that’s just my nature. When you get a good performance, you’re happy that it’s a positive performance and there’s a sense of relief for everybody. You’re pleased for the supporters and pleased for the club in general.

“The players take confidence from it, but we have to put it behind us and get on with our next game. Last Saturday’s gone. Done and dusted.

“If you’ve had a bad result you have to dust yourself down, roll your sleeves up and get on with it, and if you’ve had a good result, it’s similar.

“You also have to put it behind you, refocus and be equally as determined to go out and get the three points in the next match. Every game is about building momentum.

“We can’t just think that because we beat Dunfermline that’s us automatically clicked into gear. Tomorrow will be a different game, a different challenge and we have to be ready for that.

“You don’t get any two games that are mirrored for one reason or another. That could be because one or two players don’t perform to the same level or the opposition deny you.

“But if we can get our players playing collectively as a team, like they did on Saturday, on a regular basis then we’ll be a difficult side to play against.” Duffy turned his attention to Scott Booth’s Stenhousemuir on Saturday night and he reckons they currently find themselves in something of a false position in ninth place.

He added: “After a couple of victories, the focus of attention falls on you a little bit and you have to be able to deal with it and we now have back to back away games starting with Stenhousemuir.

“I think they’ve been a bit unlucky. They lost 2-0 to Dunfermline but got a man sent off. I watched the match on DVD and it was really competitive.

“Then last week they lost 1-0 up at Peterhead. They conceded an early goal but never buckled. They continued to work hard and showed a real good spirit.

“They’re a really hard working side but they’re not a kick-and-rush team. They play decent football from the middle of the pitch to the front.

“I know Scott Booth well and he’ll keep encouraging his side to play that way. They maybe just need a wee break to turn their fortunes around.

“They’ve had a couple of difficult away games back to back — we know how that feels after Peterhead and Forfar — and I’m sure they’ll be fired up to be back at home again.

“Everybody will be saying to them that ‘Morton beat Dunfermline last week’. That just gives them extra incentive to go and show they are a good team by getting a result against us.

“They will pass it about — but they won’t sit off us and allow us time and space on the ball. No chance. They’ll press; they’ll play with a high tempo.

“They’ll be fired up, there’s no doubt about that. And our players have been made well aware of that.”