MORTON youngster Lewis Strapp says treating every game like a cup final helped him become the club's Young Player of the Year.

Strapp says his determination to make the left-back position his own and prove he could step up from loan spells in the lower leagues were factors in scooping the honour.

The left-back cemented his place in the team this season after joining the club’s youth academy during its inception in 2012.

Strapp was the clear winner in a poll of his teammates and fans, with attacking midfielder Nicky Cadden scooping the Player of the Year award.

He said: “I am absolutely over the moon, very happy about it.

“There’s a lot of good boys in the team, luckily for me I probably played a little bit more of the season than them.

“It’s good to get the votes from the boys, it gives me a bit of extra motivation.

“It's nice to know that you’ve done your part.”

The defender has been on loan at Elgin City and Annan Athletic throughout his time at Morton and he believes that those spells helped improve his game.

He said: “I enjoyed my loans, I wouldn’t change that time away, I think it’s made me a better player.

“For all young boys going on loan, the fact you are playing games and playing for a win bonus is a big deal. These are all the wee things you don’t get that in the reserves.

“You’re getting thrown in at the deep end and I'd like to think I responded well to that."

Strapp says it has been a quick learning experience for him - but a positive one.

He said: “At the start of the season, I thought I did well coming up from League Two, but perhaps in the second half my form dipped a wee bit.

“I was enjoying all the games, every minute, Every game was like a cup final for me, building confidence and trying to play better every week than the last."

Although the coronavirus crisis is still creating uncertainty over when Scottish football will restart, the youngster says Ton supporters can look forward with confidence.

Strapp added: “You can see the way we finished, that shows the boys are beginning to gel and next season can only be even better.

“At the start of the year we had only just met each other, but we improved consistently through the months."

The results of the awards were announced online, rather than at the usual club ceremony.

He said: “I’m just happy to get the award. The fact we had to do it differently was out of everybody’s hands, it doesn’t bother me that much.

“It was my first year playing and it would have been nice to finish it properly, but we just need to get on with it and look to the restart."