JIM Duffy says his Morton side know from experience that Spartans are no pushovers and that they will have to be at their best to avoid a cup shock tomorrow.

The Ton hosted the Lowland League champions at Cappielow in the first round of the Petrofac Cup back in July.

A Cammy O’Neil debut goal was all that separated the sides after a tight encounter in which the ambitious Edinburgh outfit proved worthy opponents of a side sat two divisions above them.

The clubs meet again at Ainslie Park tomorrow in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup, and although Duffy expects a different match four months on, he also anticipates another challenging afternoon.

He told the Tele: “I expect it to be slightly different, of course.

“No two games are the same, no matter whether you play them in quick succession like at Airdrie in the last round, or months apart.

“Spartans are at home and they are a very consistent side; that’s the first thing you have to say about them.

“I’m not just talking about over this season, I’m talking about over the last two or three years.

“If you look at their record, they don’t lose many games.

“And a team that is used to winning matches and are used to competing in matches are always going to be difficult opponents.

“Obviously having beaten Clyde comprehensively in the last round will have given them great confidence.

“So from our point of view we have to approach the match totally professionally and to be ready for the challenge and ready to dig it out if we have to roll our sleeves up.

“Ideally, you want to try and go there and play and move the ball quickly and not allow them to settle, but I’m sure they will be very competitive.

“I know they were at our game last week against Stenhousemuir and will have seen the two sides to us a little bit.

“On the one side we were excellent and played really well, and then in the second half we looked a wee bit edgy at times.

“So I’m sure they’ll be looking to see if they can close us down and try and take the rhythm out of the game at times.

“From our side, we have to make sure we compete and play, because they’re not just a hard-working side, Spartans.

“They are a top-class club and a good footballing side and have a real threat going forward. The boy Errol Douglas up front is a real good player.

“They’ve got guys like Kevin Motion who scored the two goals [against Clyde] and a number of others in the middle of the pitch who are very good going forward.

“Their captain, the big centre-back Mike Bruce, is a really good player and could definitely play at a higher level. So they’ve got a number of good players.

“Don’t get me wrong, we know it’s a game where the expectations are for us to win.

“We are currently top of League One and with that comes expectations, and we understand that.

“With us being two divisions above them, it would be a cup shock I suppose you would say if we were to be knocked out.

“There will always be a cup shock every year.

“There’s already been one or two — and we don’t want to be the next one.

“So we want to go there and make sure we are in the next round.

“But we’re under no illusions that we’re going to have to work hard to achieve that, so it’s up to the players to respond and put in a positive performance.

“If we do that we can be in that draw.”