MORTON manager Gus MacPherson has today admitted that Tuesday night’s Premier Sports Cup clash against Kilmarnock is irrelevant amid the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak at the club.

The Ton boss says the welfare of his players and staff has taken priority ahead of the Group G clash, which could see Ton go top of the group with a victory after Kilmarnock’s 2-0 win over East Kilbride was reversed for fielding an ineligible player.

Preparations for the trip to Rugby Park have been hampered, with training suspended until Monday morning.

MacPherson insists it's crucial not to underestimate the effects of the virus and says players' health and safety should take priority over matches.

He told the Tele: “I’m more concerned about our situation than I am the Kilmarnock game at the moment.

“The game does become irrelevant in situations like this.

“Our situation is now that the club is closed, and we won’t be back in until Monday.

“That is the most important thing, that we look after our players and show a duty of care to them.

“It’s important that we keep the players and the staff at the club safe and we won’t report back to training until Monday, the day before the game.

“Yes, it hampers the preparations for the Kilmarnock game, but the games are irrelevant just now, we don’t underestimate this virus at all.

“We’ve got five players who are sitting with the virus, and we’ve got to put the health and wellbeing of everyone, not just the players but the staff too, we’ve got to give that the main priority.

“Other clubs have experienced it and unfortunately now it’s Morton’s turn and there will be more who have to go through the situation too.

“It’s unfortunate but it’s just the way things are just now, so the priority just now is to lock down and take care of our own.

“We’re taking this seriously and I’m sure that everybody can understand that, but we need to make sure that everybody is taken care of.”

MacPherson insisted that the work to strengthen his squad and recruit new players hasn't stopped despite the disruptions this week.

He revealed last week that he is looking to add four more players and that loan offers have been made from a number of clubs.

He said: “The recruitment work that has been going on behind the scenes won’t be stopping now that we’re isolating – not in the slightest.

“We’ve got emails and internet now, it’s a wonderful thing and means we can still carry on our business.

“We’ll continue to do that whether it’s over the phone, Zoom, emails or what have you and there’s a lot going on just now.

"We’ll continue to work around the clock to get things done and over the line and we’ve got a few stokes in the fire just now.

“The only thing that’s been truly hampered is training as a group.

“Players can still do individual stuff and get out and about and look after themselves but training is obviously cancelled until the beginning of next week.”