MORTON skipper Lee Kilday reckons today’s head-to-head with St Mirren is the biggest derby to be staged since he came to Cappielow.

Defender Kilday started all four Championship fixtures against Ton’s rivals last term as the clubs met on league duty for the first time in 15 years, and also featured in the 2014 Renfrewshire Cup final.

But he feels that this afternoon will eclipse them all as an occasion due to the fact the sides are set to clash on the opening day of the campaign.

He told the Tele: “I think this one coming up is definitely the biggest one yet since St Mirren came down from the Premiership.

“It’s a derby to start the season and you don’t tend to get that, so it means a lot. This is a massive game today to start the season. The derby has that extra element, with the rivalry between the fans.

“We played them last season and I think all the games were kind of in the middle of a run of other important matches.

“This one is going to start the season off, so it’s an added incentive on top of the rivalry to go and try to get the three points because you want to start the season well too.

“The stadium should be full and the fans will be there supporting us in numbers and there will be a, so it really is a massive game.”

Last term’s record did not make great reading for the Sinclair Street side, and after drawing two and losing two in 2015-16, Kilday is keen to address that at the first time of asking this time around.

He added: “Of course you want to beat everybody and the fact we didn’t beat them in the four games last season was very frustrating.

“In three of the games we were probably the better team on the day — in the last game of the season they were probably better than us – so they have been a bit of a bogey team.

“We just couldn’t get the victory. [Jamie] Langfield pulled off a few good saves in the first game and then in the second game we couldn’t score. It will be another very tough game today, it always is against St Mirren, but we’ll be up for it and hopefully we can get that win.”

Kilday was an unused substitute in last weekend’s 2-0 win over Berwick Rangers but hopes to regain his starting place for today.

He said: “I have been struggling with my knee and it was still giving me a wee bit of a problem. That was why I played 45 minutes against Swansea. I think maybe the gaffer just rested me [against Berwick], but Tam O’Ware and Ricki Lamie can play centre-half and Jamie Lindsay came in for his first game, so maybe there was a wee bit of rotation.

“But I’m just hoping that I start today. It’s a derby, these are games you want to play in, so I can’t wait and hopefully we can get the win and get off to a good start.”