MORTON full-back Lewis Strapp is adamant that he wants to put any talk of a Scotland Under-21 call-up on the back burner as he looks to focus on improving on his performances from last season.

The 20-year-old academy starlet impressed fans with his scintillating performances in the heart of David Hopkin’s defence as he won the Ton’s Young Player of the Year award.

Strapp has been inspired by ex-Ayr United defender Daniel Harvie's inclusion in Scot Gemmill's squad and would love to be given the chance to play for his country.

However, the young defender says his top priority is performing well for Morton and believes that it is a big year for himself and his teammates.

He told the Tele: “Hopefully I can kick on from last year.

“It was sad that the season got cut short last year because we were getting into a good rhythm, we had built a bit of momentum and you could see that in the way that we were playing.

“You look at last season, there was Daniel Harvie playing well at Ayr United and he got called up to the under-21s squad for the national team.

“It might not be as possible to get into the national set-up this year for the 21s but every young kid wants to play for their country at some point in their career.

“It’s a big year for all of us and hopefully we can give a good account of ourselves.

“At the end of the day, I’ve just got to focus on Morton – it’s a shortened year and we all need to be on it right from the start as there’s no room for error.

“I’m turning 21 this year so it’s important to have another good season under my belt and prove that I can consistently been depended upon.

“That was my first proper season in with the first team and I was wanting to see it out until the end. It was frustrating that I couldn’t.

“I just hope it’s a bit calmer this year and that I can make the most of the chance I’ve got here.”

Strapp hopes Ton can pick up where they left off, having only lost once in 10 games before the 2019/20 league season was curtailed.

He insists that a strong start to next season is vital if they want to have a successful season.

He said: “The shortened season could well work in our favour with the way things are going.

"The gaffer will obviously look to get a few more bodies in and we’ll see where we are from there.

“If we’re all in it together and we all want to work hard and keep that camaraderie that was there last season then we’ll do well.

“If we can get a good start then I think it could be an exciting year for us, especially if we can carry over the form from the end of last season.

“It’s a big year for all of us and hopefully we can give a good account of ourselves."