MORTON manager David Hopkin believes adversity is bringing his players closer together.

Hopkin praised his side’s resilience to secure a point against Dundee United following the departures of Peter Grant and Stephen Welsh on Friday.

He told the Tele: “We’re on a good run of form and it was always going to take time to get to where we wanted to be.

“I think that you can see now that we’ve got players who understand what’s being asked of them. They’re getting fitter and stronger all the time.

“We lost two players on Friday, which was a blow for us, but as I said to them in the dressing room on Saturday, whenever something happens at the club we seem to get stronger. I’d asked the players to dig in against Dundee United, because they’re unbeaten at Tannadice and the last time we were there we were beaten 6-0 and we managed to rectify that in abundance at the weekend.

"It’s hard to stop players like Lawrence Shankland, he’s the best finisher in Scotland

“His movement in the box is fantastic, he can slip away from people like he did on Saturday and he knows when the ball’s going to come to him and where to put the ball.

“It wasn’t the best header he’s scored but I’m proud we stopped them from getting another.”