MORTON star Gary Oliver believes that the new deeper lying role handed to him by Gus MacPherson has given him a new lease of life.

The 26-year-old has been deployed in an advanced position in the Ton boss's midfield so far this season, with the ex-Hearts man producing standout performances against title favourites Kilmarnock and Dunfermline.

The forward is delighted to add another string to his bow as he looks to build on the positives of Saturday’s performance against the Pars.

He told the Tele: “I’m really enjoying playing in this new role under the gaffer as a number 10 in behind the strikers, as opposed to being in and around the frontline, and now I’m helping out more defensively as well.

“It’s like a new lease of life and I’m all for it.

“It’s good to play against guys like Graham Dorrans, who’ve played at the very top of the game, because it gives you a marker as to where you’re at as well.

“I feel fit and it was nice to get a goal, so it really couldn’t have gone any better in that sense. We’ve got something to build on.

“I’m really enjoying it. I’m seeing more of the ball and I feel as if I’m good enough on the ball to play in there.

“The gaffer put me in there against Kilmarnock and I’ve played well and I’ve managed to do the same again at the weekend.

“I thought a couple of years ago that I’d like to play a little bit deeper in midfield as opposed to up front.

“It’s good to have that versatility about yourself and in this case, I can play out wide, up front or even a bit deeper now and I’m happy just to play wherever the gaffer sees fit.

“It wasn’t the worst result in the world but I thought for the majority of the game we had more possession, created more chances and probably should’ve scored a few more goals.

“It’s frustrating and the boys were disappointed after the game on Saturday, but I think that that speaks volumes of us and how we want to be this season.

“Dunfermline are a team who have some really good players and I feel as if we more than matched them at times, so it’s a credit to ourselves to have gotten a point against a side like that and feel as if we should’ve had more.”

Oliver believes that the flexibility of MacPherson’s squad will stand them in good stead going forward and he insists they've put the goal shortage issues of last season behind them.

He added: “We’ve got a lot of players who can play in different positions, which is needed with such a small squad. We’ll need people to help out across the season and that’s given us a strong fluidity about us.

“You need players who can come in and help out when the going gets tough.

“Getting beat is a habit you don’t want to get into and we’ve avoided that so far.

“If we can add a few goals to our game, which we seem to be doing, then I think we’ll be okay this season.”