A MORTON fan who set up a grassroots group to back the Cappielow club with badly-needed investment is celebrating a hugely successful first year.

Port Glasgow man Graham McLennan has turned his ambitious vision of a new vehicle for supporter investment into a reality after founding Morton Club Together only 12 months ago.

In that short time it has become the second largest shareholder in the club, with a 430-strong membership investing £50,000 in the first team squad so far.

Now they are aiming towards community ownership, as well as investing heavily next season in a bid to help the club fightback from the coronavirus crisis which has starved it of revenue.

Graham says he cannot believe how quickly MCT's first year has flown by - and is delighted with the milestones it has met along the way.

He said: “It’s been an incredible journey over the last year to get to where we are now.

“The club is going through a major transition, based on running with a break even budget.

"Of course this means it’s tough times right now at Cappielow and we believe that with hard work and by all pulling together, an exciting future could lie ahead with the fans in control.

“We have a fantastic team of volunteers behind the scenes who have worked incredibly hard to make this all possible.

"I would like to thank all of them, and every single one of our members for making what we have achieved so far possible.”

Last year Graham launched MCT in the Telegraph with an urgent rallying cry for people to join up.

He asked fans to sign up to a scheme paying a minimum of £10 a month.

The response was remarkable, with the group now owning 15 per cent of shares and Graham on the board at Cappielow as a club director.

The 430 members have so far pledged to funnel in over £180,000, with £7,000 a month going into the club.

The cash goes directly into the budget for the first team.

The group's success has helped write off £500,000 of the large debt-pile which has been run up at the club under the ownership of local confectionery firm Golden Casket, owned by the Rae family.

As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and suspension of football, Morton's workforce, barring chief exec Dave MacKinnon, is currently on furlough,

The fans' investment group is looking to increase monthly payments when the game restarts, while continuing to look at plans for community ownership of the club in the future.

Fellow MCT director Gordon Ritchie said: “The support from far and wide over the last 12 months has been pretty overwhelming.

“With 430 members, and £182,000 pledged until August 2021, MCT will continue to have a huge impact on the club."

*To join the fans group visit www.mortonclubtogether.com or email enquiries@mortonclubtogether.com