MORTON boss Gus MacPherson has called on his players to find a clinical edge ahead of today’s crucial clash against Queen of the South.

The Ton chief believes his players need to be more ruthless in the box and find an end product as they seek to climb the Championship table.

Ton created several chances in last week's fixture against league leaders Inverness but drew a blank once again and have only hit the back of net seven times so far this term.

MacPherson knows that record has to improve if they are to turn their form around.

He told the Tele: “In the first half against Inverness, Jimmy Knowles and Gavin Reilly had a couple of chances each – it’s just that little bit of composure in the final third that we’re lacking, with the strikers in the penalty box.

“It’s not just the strikers though, it’s the midfielders as well and the wider players coming into the box as well.

“Full-backs need to be getting involved higher up the park too, helping to create goalscoring opportunities and bombing on.

“At home we’ve scored six goals this season and away from home we’ve only scored one.

“We’ve got to try and rectify that and it’s not a case of not being adventurous, because we’ve created the chances – it's just having that clinical nature.

“We need to be ruthless, whether it be from set-pieces or in front of goal.

"We had an opportunity from a set piece against Inverness and we ended up conceding from it.

“It’s just those fine margins between winning and getting the points or nothing at all and we’ve got to be a lot more aggressive and progressive in that side of things.

“As a collective we want them to be the guy who gets on the end of the ball into the box and put it into the back of the net.”

MacPherson is still having to contend with injury problems, including the absence of main striker Gozie Ugwu.

But he insists the ex-Raith Rovers man's absence creates an opening for someone else to show what they can do.

He said: “Gozie, Lewis McGregor and Zander Easdale are still out.

“It doesn’t help us at all, as we’d like to have all of our players available to us but that’s why you have a squad.

“We brought in a striker with that physicality for us at the top end of the park, it’s just that we’re not able to use him just now.

“It’s up to other players to go and grab the opportunity that’s presenting itself to them."