NICKY Low has revealed he turned down a contract offer from Morton in favour of a move to their Championship rivals Queen of the South.

The Greenock-born midfielder had trained with the Ton for the last few months after leaving League of Ireland side Derry City in October.

But the 26-year-old favoured a move to play in Dumfries until the end of the season, saying playing regularly had a big part to do with moving to the Doonhamers.

He told the Tele: “I had a few offers from teams but I didn’t feel as if anything else was right at the time, that’s why I waited until late on.

“After speaking to the gaffer at Queens and when I heard what he had to say and the training I really enjoyed it and felt it was the best place to sign.

“I got an offer from them [Morton]. I could have signed there. I spoke to Jonatan [Johansson] about it.

“Sometimes you just have to do what’s best for yourself, and that was just a personal decision and I have to make the best decision for me and my family.

“Not just financially with the mortgage and other things to pay for and my family, but the other thing was am I going to play every game for them?

“If I signed at Morton I might not play every game, but at my age I feel as if I need to be playing every game, keeping fit and performing well.”

Playing under his former Aberdeen team-mate in Gary Naysmith was also a big reason behind moving to Queens.

He added: “I spoke to the gaffer and the way he sold the place and the way it was run, I enjoyed it. I had played with Gaz at Aberdeen when he was at the tail end of his career so I know him, and knowing him probably sold it for me.

“I worked under Paul Hartley as well at Dundee and I’d played with him as well so it shouldn’t be too weird.”

Morton manager Johansson admitted he tried to lure the midfielder to Cappielow, but says it wasn’t the right time to bring him in.

He said: “Nicky was in here training, he’s a great pro and he came highly recommended and did well for us. “He got an offer but at that time it was maybe not the right deal for him.

“You have to think about budgets and committing yourself early and losing a bit of clout for the rest of the window.”

Low will visit Cappielow on February 26 when Queen of the South travel up to play Morton, and the former Dundee and Aberdeen player can’t wait to play his boyhood team for the first time.

He added: “I’ve never played against Morton, I’ve played at Cappielow for the reserves but never against them.

“My friends have already been giving me some abuse already so it’s one I’m already looking forward to.”