MORTON defender Kerr Waddell is hoping a new manager at the club can help him reclaim a starting spot.

The centre-back has been down the pecking order with Lee Kilday and Gregor Buchanan making the first 11 recently.

The 20-year-old has started three games so far, two of those being in the Betfred Cup and one in the Irn-Bru Cup.

The Dundee loanee rolled his ankle in training towards the start of the season, and was ruled out for several weeks with the injury.

With the team performing well since then, he’s been unable to force his way into the side, and had few complaints with the team playing well.

But on the back of a 1-0 defeat to Partick over a week ago, and new manager Jonatan Johansson’s arrival, Waddell is hoping the change works in his favour.

He told the Tele: “It’s not helped when having Lee and Bucky [Buchanan] there playing in the same position and they’ve both been playing well since I’ve been injured.

“I want to play but when they’re performing so well, they’re part of the main reason we’re doing so well.

“There are only three of us that play centre-half normally, and we always need to give our all as there’s always going to be one of us that is left out. I was hoping to break into the team but with a new manager everyone will have a clean slate so hopefully I’ll be playing.”

The centre-back is one of the younger players in the squad, and it was the first time the Dundee man had encountered a manager leaving or losing his job while being part of the senior squad when Ray McKinnon moved to Falkirk.

It was a shock to the system for the former Clyde loanee, but Waddell says the senior players in the group helped make it a much easier time, especially when there were no coaches to run training last week.

He added: “I was at Dundee when Paul Hartley got sacked but I wasn’t in the first team squad, so it didn’t affect me as 
much.

“It was a shock but all the boys were excited to see who was coming in next.

“I love it down here. It wasn’t ideal before the Partick Thistle game but we’ve got a great dressing room at Morton.

“Jim McAlister and Chris Millar are experienced and they’ve been helping the boys through everything.

“They were a massive help on the day of the game and during training, they were saying that it is us, the players, that go out and win the games.”

At his parent club Dundee, there was also lots of movement in the centre-back position.

Former England international Steven Caulker terminated his contract, while the Dee also brought in Ryan Inniss and Andy Boyle on loan.

Waddell’s loan spell with Morton runs until January, and the centre-back says if he’s good enough to make the breakthrough at the Premiership side then his opportunity will come.

He said: “Steven left but they brought in two new centre-halves on deadline day.

“I don’t look at it as competition, if I’m good enough then I’ll play. If I’m not good enough then I don’t deserve to be playing for them.”