JIM Duffy revealed how his Morton stars tamed the ‘Beast from the East’ after swapping football boots for a set of shovels.

Duffy and his first team squad braved sub-zero temperatures and icy winds by taking part in an impromptu training session on Friday morning at Greenock’s Battery Park.

It was their one and only training session ahead of Saturday’s trip to Celtic Park after the ‘Beast from the East’ left the country under a blanket of snow, causing widespread chaos.

Duffy said: “We had a wee half an hour in the blizzard down at Battery Park where we cleared a bit of snow. 

“Davie Wylie, our goalkeeping coach, got the shovels out and we cleared a wee 20-yard area and we had a touch of the ball.

“And it was absolutely baltic. The snow was blowing all over the place and that’s all we’ve done since Tuesday. And that’s all we could do. 

“But we could have spent a week preparing for Celtic in terms of organisation and they may still have won.

“It was not ideal preparation but the first thing you say when you come here is give everything, be organised and make it a difficult day for Celtic- and in all three things I think we did that.

“I was delighted with most of the performance, of course, we made mistakes for the goals. 

“We started the game well, which was important. I think we started the first 15 minutes to 20 minutes looking confident. 

“It’s a cliché statement but if you come here you want to start the game well and not allow Celtic to get a foothold in the game and I think we did that.

“Celtic started to grow into the game, as you would expect them to do. And for the last 20 minutes of the first half we just had to work hard and stay compact and stay in the game and we did that. 

“But Celtic changed the personnel, changed the system a bit and they changed the tempo of their game in the second half. 

“They moved the ball quicker, interchanged quicker and they have not just one player with class, they have umpteen! And class told in the end.”

He added: “But from my point of view the effort, the organisation and the work ethic from the players was terrific. 

“When you come here the first thing you want to do is make it difficult for Celtic, don’t hand them it and I think we did that.”