Jim Duffy’s men were eliminated by fellow Championship outfit Dumbarton at Cappielow after Stevie Aitken’s Sons surged into a three-goal lead and held on despite a late rally from the home side.

Kilday was disappointed by the 3-2 defeat but not overly concerned, and he says the Ton should not be judged on the result as they were decimated by injuries and suspensions.

Speaking to the Tele, he said: “It’s the first game of the season, so I don’t think we can take too much from the game because we obviously had a few players out.

“Obviously it is very disappointing to go out the cup, but the main thing is the league this season and that’s where we want to concentrate. “That’s the main thing and it starts in a couple of weeks.

“It was good to get back on the park in a competitive game on Saturday but I don’t think anybody should be too worried about [it].

“In terms of the game I didn’t think there was much in it. I thought they were decent but I don’t think there was too much between the teams.

“We gave away two silly goals in the first half and then the third in the second half. Again, we’re chasing the game here, like we did a good few times last season and managed to pull it back.

“And we nearly did it again. The gaffer said to us at half-time that it was just two silly mistakes and two good goals from them, and that it was all about character now.

“He said: ‘If you lose another one, you can’t chuck it. You never did it last season, so don’t start doing it now’.

“And I think at 3-0 we did keep going and did think we could get back into the game and we nearly did.

“But they finished the game well, up in the corner in the last five minutes keeping the ball really well.

“It was bit of experience from them, so we need to take it on the chin and look to next week.” Kilday expects Rangers and Hibs to be head and shoulders above the rest in the Ladbrokes Championship next term, but reckons everyone else will be on an equal footing.

He added: “I think it will be a difficult league. Rangers and Hibs are the only two who will be the better teams.

“But I don’t there will much too much between everyone else.” The combination of Ricki Lamie and Michael Miller’s suspensions and the injury to Frank McKeown saw Kilday deployed in the centre of defence for the first time in Ton colours.

It is a role he is familiar with from his time at Hamilton Accies, and the 23-year-old, who turned out at right-back last term, admits it his preferred position.

He explained: “I played centre-half before I came to Morton and actually prefer it there to be honest. I really enjoyed it there on Saturday; it was nice to play there.

“I think it is probably my best position. It’s the first time I’ve played it in a year and a bit now, but I felt comfortable.”