WING man Nicky Cadden says it's a real wrench to leave Morton because of his rapport with the club's fans and connection with manager David Hopkin.

Cadden quit Cappielow on Friday evening to sign for English League 2 side Forest Green Rovers after an excellent and productive solitary season in Greenock.

The 23-year-old scored 10 goals during it and registered 14 assists in 29 appearances.

Ton say they did everything they could to try and persuade their player of the year to stay, offering him a wage rise and a two year deal, but he opted to move on.

Cadden told the Tele that playing in front of the Cowshed is something he will never forget and said it had been a tough decision to make the move to Gloucestershire.

He told the Tele: “It wasn’t an easy decision to make, because I’ve made it known how much I like working with the gaffer and his staff.

"It was a hard decision to take, especially when the club had tried to keep me.

“I’ve spoken to the gaffer and he’s delighted for me, obviously not in the sense of leaving the club, but for taking the next step forward in my career and I hope that we both do well next season at Morton and Forest Green respectively.

“I really enjoyed my season at Morton.

"Working with the gaffer again was great for me and from the get-go the fans were brilliant with me.

"It's helped me kick on so much over the last 12 months.

“The gaffer showed a lot of faith in me this season, he gave me a platform to go and get a run of games to bring some consistency back to my game and I cannot thank him enough for that.

“I’ll definitely miss the connection that I had with the supporters here.

"Playing in front of the Morton fans was excellent for me, it’s something that I’ll never forget because they spurred me on so much during the season.

“They would always shout encouragement and were great with me.

“I want to thank them for everything that they’ve done for me over the last year and I wish them a successful season whenever it starts.

“I just hope that they understand that career-wise, it was an offer that I couldn’t turn down."

Cadden feels that despite his departure Ton can still go on to have a good campaign come the kick-off in October.

He believes if they maintain the momentum they had built up since the turn of the year then they will be challenging for promotion.

Cadden said: “I hope the club can keep the squad together as much as possible because you saw the run that we were on.

"By the start of the lockdown we’d only lost once in 11 games.

“No matter what level you are playing at that’s title-winning form, never mind promotion.

“It obviously took us a few months to click but once we got going, we were flying.

"It was frustrating the way the season ended so suddenly but obviously we can't control what’s going on in the world.

“If Morton can carry that form over then there’s no reason why they can’t challenge strongly for promotion."