RORY McKeown is aiming to retain his starting spot in the Morton team tonight when they head up north to take on Peterhead in their Scottish Cup replay.

The two sides have to do it all again at Balmoor Stadium after their 1-1 draw at Cappielow, with the winner of tonight’s game playing East Fife in the next round of the competition.

Saturday was the defender’s first appearance since the 5-0 loss to Ross County back in October, and the Northern Irishman is hoping to play again tonight after his recent spell sitting on the sidelines.

He told the Tele: “I was very happy to be back into the side. 

“I’ve spent the last few weeks sitting on the bench, and being someone who usually plays every week it’s disappointing.

“But at the same time it’s up to me to force my way into the manager’s plans and thankfully he’s trusted me enough to throw me into a position I’ve played before but I don’t usually play [at centre-back]. 

“It was just nice to get back onto the pitch.

“The gaffer made his decision and I’ve got to respect that.

“It’s down to him. He felt a change was needed and, to be fair, the boys have picked up a few points in the last few weeks.

“After the Ross County game I can’t complain after that performance, he’s changed it up and it’s up to me to force my way back into the side and make sure I’m playing week in, week out.

“I’ve never played up at Peterhead. I’ve never experienced it but it’s a quick turnaround thankfully and we can’t think about it for too long.

“We need to have a positive attitude to go and do the job and get through to the next round, and hopefully I’ll be starting again.”

The Ton went behind on Saturday when Scott Brown slotted in from 10 yards out, before Bob McHugh got an equaliser five minutes before the break.

Jonatan Johansson’s side tried to get the winner late on, and their best chance came deep into injury time when McHugh had a header go inches wide at the death.

But 25-year-old McKeown believes a draw was a fair outcome.

He added: “On the way it went it was probably a fair result. We had a few chances where we could have nicked it, Bob had a header and Reghan [Tumilty] had a shot.

“Other than their goal we limited their chances, I don’t remember them having any other clear-cut chances.

“They matched us up well and did the job they set up to do, so I don’t have any complaints about the result, but I’m disappointed we didn’t get through to the next round at the first attempt.”