MORTON face a crunch moment in their season today as they take on Queen of the South in what has understandably been billed as a must-win game.

The tag is thrown about often - sometimes with little justification - and it's one managers recoil from, but looking at the league table it seems apt on this occasion.

With only seven games remaining, the outcome of this fixture could prove to be a defining moment in the Greenock men's campaign.

They currently sit third bottom of the Championship, just one point ahead of Arbroath and five clear of bottom side Alloa Athletic.

Win this weekend and they'd take a big step towards safety by going just a couple of points behind fifth placed Queens.

Lose and they will be in deep trouble, while the sense is that a draw at home against this opposition is not going to be enough at this stage - Ton ultimately need wins to get themselves over the line.

They also have to rapidly improve their home form, having failed to win there in the last three months and lost three of their last four matches on their own park.

These are ominous-looking statistics that they have to change.

This game - against a side they have already defeated at Cappielow - looks about as good an opportunity as they are going to get.

They went down to a narrow defeat at Dunfermline last Saturday in what was new boss Gus MacPherson's first game in charge.

While he'd only had time for a couple of training sessions with the players, the 90 minutes at East End Park will probably have told him all he needs to know.

It was a microcosm of Ton's year, a game in which they competed well and defended stoutly for the most part but also struggled to create - and thus came away empty-handed when the final whistle went.

A lack of spark and firepower has bedevilled them all the way back to October and if they do not find their shooting boots soon then they could pay a heavy price.

MacPherson was spot on in his post-match assessment that there was very little to choose between the teams - save for a lapse in concentration at the back from the visitors it would likely have ended in a goalless draw.

His decision to change to two up top during the second half shows that he is aware he has to find a way to add a bit of punch at the top of the pitch.

This is a pool which is not short on numbers or people who can play in attack but the problem is, and always has been, that there is not a single natural striker among them, nor has an effective partnership emerged as yet.

It highlights a gaping hole in the squad which was put together by David Hopkin in the summer but there is little point bleating about the former manager's decision-making now.

The solution, if it is to be found, will have to come from within this squad and that may necessitate a change of shape which enables them to carry a greater threat going forward.

While they were going down to the Pars, today's opponents were stumbling to a 3-2 defeat at home to Alloa.

They did not help their cause by picking up two red cards but in a boost for Allan Johnston, both have since been rescinded, leaving Rhys McCabe and Ayo Obileye free to play.

While that could be viewed as a bad break for the hosts, they have to avoid becoming bogged down with such considerations.

Outside affairs such as these - as well as the midweek results at Dundee and Kirkcaldy which also conspired against them - are completely out of their control.

They have to circle the wagons, get the siege mentality on and redouble their resolve to use these final seven games to show they are good to remain in the second tier.

The three previous meetings between the Doonhamers and Ton this season have been tight affairs.

The League Cup group game ended in a draw, Ton just shaded their win before Christmas thanks to Kalvin Orsi's double, and a very poor first half and rank bad profligacy during the second 45 was their undoing at Palmerston.

This afternoon's encounter could easily go either way but the sense is that Morton have to capitalise on home advantage and take their chance, or there will be a huge question mark over whether they can stay up.

They are an honest, hard-working bunch who always give their all - and they now need to show that strength of character more than ever.