A WINNING team is usually a happy one, but for Morton’s Ryan Scully his delight is simply starting games again.

The goalkeeper is in line to play against his former club Partick Thistle, where he was out of the picture last season.

If the 25-year-old starts today, he will already match the total amount of appearances for the entire 17/18 season last year.

Scully has not been a regular starter since his loan spell with Dunfermline in 2014-15.

He’s loving every minute of it so far at the Ton, with friends and family seeing a noticeable difference in the shotstopper.

He told the Tele: “Starting regularly just makes everything better. 

“My girlfriend’s mum came down the other week to watch me and she said she can notice the difference in me just by playing football again.

“All you want to do is to play and enjoy your football, I’m enjoying it again.

“It was always about game time for me this year, especially after the last few years at Thistle.

“I knew it was going to be tough with Gats [Derek Gaston] here and I knew I had to hit the ground running and thankfully I’ve done that, I’ve got the number one jersey and long may it continue.”

Scully will be up against his old club for the second time this season, after playing against the Jags in the Betfred Cup at Firhill last month, losing  2-1.

The Republic of Ireland goalkeeper spent 10 years at Thistle, but knew he had to get out last season for his own good.

He added: “Probably at the half way point of last year I knew I had to leave.

“I wasn’t getting games and I’d just stalled, I’d hit a point in my career where I didn’t see any progression and I knew I had to play regularly to get that again.

“Every player will be the same, nobody wants to sit on the bench, it gets to you.

“We’ve had a good start to the league as well and it helps, and there’s no better feeling than getting the three points on a Saturday.”

One of the big reasons behind Scully’s move to Morton was getting a fair crack of the whip as well, which is something he felt he didn’t enjoy previously.

McKinnon stated whichever goalkeeper was on top in training and in games would be first choice, and Scully is glad it’s worked in his favour so far.

Scully said: “He [McKinnon] made that very clear from the start that he wouldn’t have a favourite.

“Some managers may say they don’t have a favourite, but they go back on their word.

“He’s been a man of his word, and he’s seen what’s happening at training.

“Gats’ hand injury hasn’t really helped him, and it’s unlucky from his point of view and lucky from my point of view.

“It is up to me to perform well in the games and at training and thankfully I’ve done that, but I know I have to keep pushing myself.

“But it’s a long season and a lot can change, you need to enjoy it while it’s going well for you, I’ve had plenty of down points over last year.

“The highs are short-lived at the weekends and it’s straight back to business on the Monday, but you still need to enjoy it especially when you get victories, and hopefully we can do that tomorrow.”