SKIPPER Jim McAlister says Morton can’t afford to keep giving opponents head starts.

David Hopkin’s men came from two goals down against Partick Thistle to secure three points on Friday night.

The week before Hibs took a two-goal lead in the Betfred Cup last-16 clash at Easter Road before Ton battled back into the tie. 

While McAlister hopes Ton can maintain their never-say-die attitude this season, the midfielder says they don’t want to find themselves on the back foot early on against Inverness Caley Thistle this Friday. 

He said: “You don’t want to be 2-0 down in games like we were on Friday. It’s a really horrible scoreline to come back from and it’s such a big thing about who gets the next goal.

“We were pushing really hard [against Partick Thistle] and we always felt we could get the next goal and when we did we knew we could go on and win the game.

“It just shows the never-say-die attitude that we’ve got in the dressing room and we’ll continue that over the season.

“We’ve had a good start, especially turning over a team like Partick Thistle who want to be challenging at the top of the league, and we know we need to keep performing like that.

“There’s no doubt about it, Friday is going to be a really tough game. 

“I think over the course of last season, if it wasn’t Ross County who were the best team in the league then Inverness were going to run them really close.

“They’ve lost a couple of big players like Liam Polworth going to Motherwell but they’ve still got a very good side and they’ve had a decent start to the league like us. It’s important that we build a momentum and keep driving on it.

“We need to make sure that we win our home games and try and get the odd points here and there whilst we’re away.”

McAlister believes that next week’s Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Cup game will have an impact on the game, but say’s that the Ton are solely focused on this Friday’s clash.

He told the Tele: “It’s going to be quite cagey, because neither team will want to give too much away with the cup game being the week after.

“I imagine both sides will make changes for the cup game as Friday’s game will be the priority for both teams, and that can be a positive for us.

“We’ve got a bigger squad now and the quality is there to see, we’ve got to look at the players on the bench who are coming on and having a big impact and that can only bode well for the season.”