SAM Ramsbottom says he is prepared to fight off any competition that comes his way as Morton search for a new goalkeeper following Brendan Pearson’s 
departure.

The Ton shotstopper has been number one between the sticks since his arrival from Alfreton Town in the summer and believes he has what it takes to make the position his own.

Injured Pearson, inset, left the club on Monday after agreeing to terminate his contract and Ton manager David Hopkin has previously said he plans to bring in another goalkeeper.

Ramsbottom told the Tele: “I’m relishing the competition with whoever the gaffer decides to bring in.

“Whoever comes in, it’s up to me to keep the number one shirt and that’s what I want to do.

“I want to play as many games as possible and kick on as much as I can.

“It’s sad the way Brendan has had to go but that’s the way football works sometimes, he’s a good lad.

“We don’t know what the gaffer has planned yet, but we’ll see what happens in the next couple of days or weeks.

“I’ll learn no matter what happens because we’ve got Dave Timmins here who has a vast amount of experience, so we’ll see where things end up. 

“You never know, we could learn off of each other.”

Ramsbottom made an impressive stop just before half-time against Alloa, keeping the game all square, which proved to be a key turning point for the Ton.

But the modest ‘keeper insists it was a team effort and is looking forward to building a solid unit with the defence in front of him.

He added: “It was a good performance from everyone really, it was good to get the league campaign off and running with a win.

“Obviously it was a decent save at an important time, but I thought we defended well as a unit and with the chances we created we were unlucky not to score more than we did.

“We’re getting stronger all the time. I’ve been here a few months now, so everyone has played together at least a few times and building connections is very important.

“I’ve got Brian [McLean] and Jim [McAlister] in front of me who are very experienced. Jim’s the captain and he’s played down in England, so it’s good having them there.”

The shotstopper is upbeat about Saturday’s trip to Edinburgh to face Hibs in the Betfred Cup last 16. 

Having read about the Ton’s last trip to Easter Road in the League Cup in 2008 when they won 4-3 in extra-time, Ramsbottom sees no reason why Morton can’t produce another shock result.

He said: “I’m really looking forward to the Hibs game. 
“Why can’t we go to a big ground and a big club in Hibs and go and upset a few people?

“I’ve seen online that the last time we played Hibs at this stage of the cup we beat them, so I don’t see why we can’t go and do it again.

“Jim [McAlister] hasn’t really spoken about the game. I know he played in it, but I’ll be asking him about it over the next few days to see what it was like and for any advice he can give.

“It’ll probably be the biggest crowd I’ve played in front of. I’m looking forward to it.”