HAVING suffered three successive league defeats Morton need to stop the bleeding tomorrow as they welcome Raith Rovers to Cappielow.

Just over halfway through the first quarter, a bright enough start has stalled and left the Greenock men stuck on just four points in eighth place.

They now need to get back on track and start collecting some victories as soon as possible.

While we are clearly nowhere near a crisis of confidence at this very early stage of the season, losing matches can nevertheless become a damaging habit which it is difficult to stop and it seems obvious the Greenock men must get something from tomorrow's match.

In their defence, two of the trio of losses they have suffered in the Championship have been at the home grounds of Partick and Kilmarnock, sides expected to challenge for promotion, although the home reverse to a moderate Queen of the South outfit remains not so easily explained away.

They can at least seek some solace from the fact that there was a world of difference between the performances at Firhill and Rugby Park, albeit that they still came away from last Saturday's trip to Ayrshire empty handed.

Where they were meek and feeble at Firhill, they put up a spirited fight against Killie and in the final analysis it was a game they could easily have taken something from.

In the end a solitary lapse at the back cost them - and that serves as a harsh lesson that if you are looking to go away from home and battle, scrap and play on the counter, then ultimately it all means nothing if your concentration isn't almost perfect.

That is a high bar to set and it is fair to say that Ton are going to have to find a way of posing more of a threat at the top of the pitch rather than relying on keeping opposing sides out.

Shape, organisation, work-rate and being competitive should always be a given - what Morton have to do is find a way of getting at teams more often, particularly now that they have a well-stocked striking department with a number of different options at their disposal.

Gus MacPherson's men are also going to have to look after the ball better.

On too many occasions they go back to front with long punts which cough up possession straight back to their opponents or end up going out of play.

They need to show more variation and creativity, different patterns of play and more of a willingness to hold onto the ball and try and play through the thirds of the pitch.

They created two or three promising moments against Killie, but didn't exactly carve out any gilt-edged chances and when the hosts went ahead it was more of a hope than a expectation that they could haul themselves back into the game.

It wasn't to be and Ton will need to dust themselves down from that disappointment, take the positive aspects from their display and try and build on them tomorrow.

The game against Rovers will likely see the home debuts of recent arrivals Jaakko Oksanen and Gavin Reilly, while Newcastle duo Tom Allan and Oisin McEntee will also hope for starts.

Experienced striker Reilly, main image, showed enough last week to suggest that he can be a threat if his team-mates can provide a reliable supply-line, while Finnish midfielder Oksanen looked bright in some moments and, understandably, a little off the pace at others.

It will take time for him to adjust to the unforgiving and frenetic speed of the second tier of Scottish football but the signs are promising that there is a good player there who could flourish once he adjusts.

Allan found it harder to get into the game, but that was perhaps more of a reflection of the way it went and he is more likely to come into his own when his side are getting on the front foot.

They will surely do that tomorrow as they return to Cappielow for the first time in a month and face off against John McGlynn's Fifers.

Raith lost a number of key men in the summer after an impressive first campaign back in the Championship and it looks like it is taking them time to find their feet.

Their form has been up and down, with a good run ended last week by a disappointing home defeat against Queen of the South.

It leaves them tied with Ton towards the lower reaches of the table, although they have played one fixture fewer.

They could come up against a familiar face tomorrow afternoon in the shape of Ton striker Gozie Ugwu, if he is deemed ready to come back into the starting line-up.

If he is fit to return to the fold then that would be a big boost for the home side and perhaps he can come back in to play a pivotal role by haunting his old club and getting Morton back on track.