MORTON chairman Crawford Rae says Michael Tidser was tempted away from the club by a ‘crazy’ offer from bitter rivals Falkirk.

The midfielder is set to join the Bairns in the summer after months of speculation, having agreed a pre-contract agreement with their Championship rivals.

It ends the 29-year-old’s eight-year stay at the Ton over two spells with the Greenock side.

While Mr Rae says the club was very keen to keep the midfielder, he admitted they could not compete financially with what Falkirk were offering.

He told the Tele: “We did want Michael to stay here, he was in Jonatan’s plans, however, if another club come in and offer a crazy deal and offer him two years or however long it is for, then it’s very difficult to counter that and go outwith the budget to keep hold of him.

“It was not just over our budget, it was way, way more than that.

“Michael’s in a difficult position as well. Michael has family and children, he has to look after Michael Tidser as well, so you can’t blame the boy for doing that.

“If this wasn’t Falkirk we probably wouldn’t be having this much discussion, it’s a wee bit more raw and we can’t say too much about it.

“Michael would definitely be here next year if the Falkirk situation and a crazy offer hadn’t come in for him.

“He would be a Morton player next year because we were keen to tie him up.”