NEW Morton signing James Wallace says he is ready to grab his second chance at full-time football after being left out in the cold by boyhood club Ross County.

The 20-year-old was one of four new arrivals to check into Cappielow last Friday in a hectic day of transfer activity, becoming David Hopkin’s seventh pre-season arrival.

The forward wants to prove a point after being released by the Staggies last season and says he is looking to kickstart his career under the Ton manager.

He told the Tele: “I’m delighted to get everything sorted, but I really just want to get going now and prove that I can play in the Championship.

“I feel as if I’ve got a point to prove after being released, but I want to focus on really doing my best for Morton.

“When Ross County were in the Championship I was in and around the first team and was even on the bench a few times - but I felt as if I never got the game time to prove myself.

“Now that I’m at Morton, obviously I’ve now got the opportunity to go and do that, so I just need to knuckle down and try my hardest to get into the team because it’s a big year for me to really kickstart my career.

“I never really got the opportunity to kick on and progress in the first team, but that was when I was 16/17.

“I’m now 20 so I now need to play as many first team games as I possibly can.

“It’s a good group of boys in the squad here, they are all of a similar age to me.

“We’re all young, enthusiastic and we all want to play football - so there will be plenty of competition for places.

“Playing for Brora in the Highland League last season was a great experience for me and one that I’ve learned from.

“After playing in the reserves for the last four years or so, it’s good to play against the likes of your Celtic and Rangers youth teams, but it doesn’t come close to playing on a Saturday at 3pm for three points.

“That’s the main learning curve for any young player and I was lucky enough to be able to go and do that at Brora.

“People were coming straight from their work to training on a Tuesday and a Thursday night, it was a good experience for me but at the same time it made me realise that I didn’t want to do that.

“I was desperate to remain full-time after being let go by Ross County, so I’m delighted that I’ve been given another chance to do that here at Morton.”

Wallace revealed that he didn’t let himself become disheartened after leaving the Staggies.

He put the hours in over lockdown which impress Hopkin and he is determined not to let his new boss down.

He said: “Lockdown was weird for me and uncertain because I’d been at Ross County all of my days really and then getting let go can maybe leave you a bit lost and panicking, but I couldn’t let myself do that.

“I told myself that it wasn’t just me that it had happened to because there were boys up and down the country being let go, so there would be a chance that clubs would be looking for players.

“I knew that I just had to keep myself as fit as I possibly could and when the chance came to train with teams then I’d be able to take those opportunities with both hands and be in the best possible condition that I could be.

“It’s not nice when you’re without a club, but the manager has given me the chance and a deal, so hopefully I can repay the faith he’s shown in me and I can show what I can do this year.”