A MORTON fan ownership scheme will still go ahead even if the ambitious £400,000 target is not met by next week.

The Morton Club Together group currently have over 300 pledges totalling £125k with the June 21 deadline looming for supporters to sign up to the initiative.

But founder Graham McLennan says they will carry on regardless of the final total in a bid to boost Ton manager David Hopkin's transfer kitty before the start of the new season.

It comes after MCT held a recent event at Greenock Wanderers for fans to meet some of the people behind the scheme, which aims to help secure fresh investment in the playing squad and put the club on a more stable financial footing.

Cappielow legend Allan McGraw, who is backing the idea, was also in attendance.

The initial plan was to secure £400k worth of pledges by next Friday with the money to start rolling in from the beginning of August for a period of two years.

In return, Morton supremo Crawford Rae has agreed to hand over a 15 per cent stake in the club and a seat on the board to the fans' group.

Mr McLennan said: "If the target of £400k is not reached by June 21, MCT proposes to still go ahead with investment, all of which will stay in David Hopkin's budget for two full seasons. "The more pledges we get by June 21, the better placed MCT is to get the best deal for pledgers and deliver the best positive impact at Morton and for the Inverclyde community."

The fans' group will proceed with a share transfer agreement by close of play next Friday based on the final total by 5pm that day.

A new website has now been launched to make it even easier for supporters to make a pledge from as little as £10 a month.

Mr McLennan said: "MCT is a long-term initiative and this campaign is just the start.

"Rome wasn't built in a day. "What we believe we have proved is that there is considerable interest in what we are doing, worldwide, which is what we said on day one we were hoping for.

"We intend to keep the pledging window open for more people to join in after June 21."

Following the success of the open day at the Wanderers' Fort Matilda ground earlier this month, pictured, another MCT event will take place at Port Glasgow Golf Club on June 22 to thank those who have signed up to the scheme.

Admission is free and it will be an informal night of football conversations with Allan McGraw, fellow ex-Ton player George Anderson, Ton chief executive Dave MacKinnon and other special guests expected to attend.

For more information about MCT and make a pledge, visit www.mortonclubtogether.com or email pledges@mortonclubtogether.com