MORTON manager David Hopkin has revealed that he and his team have become the first squad in Scotland to operate on a fully vegetarian diet.

The Ton boss says that meat has been taken completely off the menu at Cappielow for the past six weeks as he looks to get the best out of his players on and off the park.

He commended his players for buying into the plan as he continues to help move the club forward in what is a first for any club in the country.

He told the Tele: “We changed the diet at the club about six weeks ago where we don’t eat meat at the club during the week.

“As a result of changing the diet we’re now the first club in Scotland that’s fully vegetarian.

“Last year we tried to introduce it as much as we could and we’d eat fish and as many other things that we could - but this year we thought why not be the first club to go fully vegetarian.

“It’s another positive step in the right direction and one that we want to keep going in and hopefully we continue to see the benefits of.

“I think that the players are reaping the benefits of it and are feeling great.

“It’s just one of a number of things that we’ve tried to install at the club since arriving last season.

“I’ve not eaten any meat for two years now.

“I’ve spoken to the players about it and told them that I feel great.

“The players are well looked after at the club and like anything some of them were a wee bit iffy about it at the start, but I think that we’ve got a really good chef and staff at the club who look after us.

“They’ve really brought into it and the players have too.”

While he admits that the players might not choose to follow the regime at home, Hopkin believes that it’s a great credit to his squad that they have openly gone along with the diet.

Although the players might have been sceptical at the beginning, he believes that they are reaping the rewards after a short space of time.

He said: “They might not be following it at home, but I don’t mind that.

“I just said to the players that I thought it was something that we could all buy into and alright, not everyone is the biggest fan of veg, but you can still make a lot with them and make everything taste really nice.

“It’s a great credit to them that they’ve bought into it and they seem really happy with the food that’s being prepared in at the club.”

Morton defender Brian McLean said: "It's worked well for us. Hats off to Tony and Jane in the kitchen for making it so well.

"I didn't notice the difference in terms of the taste but I am enjoying it and we're performing well as a group which is the most important thing.

"Any little incremental thing that can enhance the performance on a Saturday makes all the difference."

Ton centre-back Sean McGinty has also welcomed the move.

He said: "It's brilliant. It's certainly a little bit different as I've never had this before, but any extra percent that you can get from things like this is important."