BRIAN McLean has praised Morton players for stepping up to the plate under the new management team.

McLean's role at the club has changed with the veteran defender helping out Anton McElhone since the shock departure of former manager David Hopkin earlier this month.

But the 35-year-old believes every player has had to stand up and be counted.

McLean says the squad has taken the extra responsibilities in their stride after securing back-to-back wins in the league.

He told the Tele: “We’ve all just kind of embraced the new roles.

“It’s not just myself, Midge [Chris Millar] and Jim [McAlister] who have had to adapt - it’s all the boys in the dressing room.

“They’ve embraced it as well and have accepted more responsibility and you can see more players having a voice now and that’s the biggest element that’s pleasing me most.

“People are beginning to realise that they can step up and do a job and that they can fill a void where the gaffer maybe thought he could’ve held his own.

“That’s the case with Craig McGuffie coming in against Dunfermline a fortnight ago and now Kalvin Orsi coming in against Queens at the weekend there.”

Ton saw off Queen of the South thanks to two Kalvin Orsi strikes either side of half-time and now turn their attentions to facing Inverness Caley Thistle on Boxing Day.

McLean believes that they have given themselves the perfect platform to build on over what he believes will be a crucial part of the season.

He said: “The festive period is usually an important one and none more so than this season with everything going on, but we need to continue to focus on building on our recent results and what we’re trying to do.

“Personally, I’ve always thoroughly enjoyed the games over Christmas. When I played abroad I found it strange coming back home and being able to enjoy your Christmas almost because usually you’re in training most days and focusing on games.

“I think there will be a bigger emphasis on picking up points over this period - especially with the shortened season - and we’ve given ourselves a really good chance of doing that having already picked up six points against Dunfermline and Queens.

“It’s all the more reason to keep our winning ways at Cappielow and we hope that we’ll be able to continue to do that against Inverness.”

McLean believes that the players have responded well in the last two games but has warned that the standards they have set can't drop.

He added: “That’s the kind of reaction that we needed - and it sums football up, it’s about reactions.

“You can give the ball away, have a mump and a moan, but it’s how you react to that misplaced pass, to winning a tackle, a header or even going one or 2-0 up.

“We can't afford to become complacent, we need to keep our standards up because the reaction has been amazing so far.”