Veteran Morton defender desperate to land new deal

The experienced former Northern Irish international made 15 appearances in all competitions for David Hopkin’s side during the season and is adamant that he can still do a job next term.

The 35-year-old’s deal runs out on Wednesday, like the majority of David Hopkin’s squad, and he hopes that the club can temporarily extend his stay under the government furlough until the end of July amid the coronavirus crisis.

McLean told the Tele: “I feel as if I’ve still got a lot to give.

"I came back from playing overseas and that is always difficult and I’m grateful for the opportunities given to me here at Morton.

"I definitely still want to play full-time and I feel as if I have got a lot to offer,

"I’ve shown that in my performances when I’ve done well this season, particularly after the turn of the year.

“The points accumulated when I’ve been in the team have been very good, so I definitely feel as if I’ve got plenty left in the tank, whether that’s here in Greenock at Cappielow or somewhere else."

McLean says it is a tough time due to the unprecedented nature of the situation Scottish football in, along with the rest of society, but he wants to be able to carry on the good work that was under way before the disease outbreak brought everything to a shuddering halt.

He told the Tele: "Given the current circumstances and climate it’s going to be difficult for anyone to predict what’s going to happen.

“Nobody can really plan too far ahead, it’s all happening on a week by week basis at the minute.

“One positive to take from the situation is that everybody has stuck together.

"We’ve all worked alongside the PFA and their advice and guidelines.

"I’m thankful for union people like Fraser Wishart and all the guys behind the scenes but I would really like to continue to play as much as I can.

"It’s all still a bit foggy with just under a week to go, but with these things it can be sorted out really quickly right up until the last minute.

“I’d like to think the club would do the right thing by the players after all the efforts that we’ve put in throughout the course of the season.

"So many things have happened and the manager has been able to create a good dressing room and a culture in there as well and I feel it’s really important that that doesn’t go unnoticed.

“It would be a shame to lose such a good group of boys.

"You could see that after Christmas and new year that we were beginning to pick up some steam and when the suspension of the leagues occurred I felt as if we had unfinished business in the league.

“It left a bad taste in my mouth, it just didn’t sit right with me for things to have ended like that because we were flying really.

“It is frustrating because we felt as if we really had the opportunity to kick on and prove ourselves.

“We just need to hope that we can pull through all of this and the club can come out of this on the other side."

McLean has had a long career in the game and little surprises him but he admits he was still saddened to see other clubs releasing almost all of their squads during the pandemic.

The former Motherwell man said: “It’s horrible to see what’s gone on at clubs like Dunfermline and Queen of the South, especially with the way the government have brought in this job retention scheme for that purpose.

“I don’t get why clubs are going down that route when that is in place - the purpose of the furlough is to retain jobs til the end of July.

“Fortunately decisions haven’t been made like that at Cappielow and hopefully they don’t have to do similar, because livelihoods are at stake here.

“You’ve got guys who are trying to make the grade at this level who’ve maybe done well and moved out for the first time or went and bought that car they always liked.

"At the end of the day footballers have a stereotype, especially in Scottish football, and people think that we’re on mega money – which we’re not.

“The reality is that it’s a normal wage, you’re not far off a minimum annual salary."