MORTON star Reece Lyon says he has rediscovered his hunger for football after falling out of favour at Cappielow last season.

The 21-year-old looked set to become a mainstay in the Ton engine room after penning a three-year deal under former boss David Hopkin in September 2019.

The academy graduate admits the security of the long-term deal made him feel 'too comfortable' and he believes it's what led to him losing his place in the first team.

Lyon says manager Gus MacPherson has helped him find his appetite for success again as he embarks on 'one of the biggest seasons' of his career.

He told the Tele: “The last few years have gone quite fast to be honest, it only feels like yesterday that I signed my three year deal under Hoppy.

“This is my last year and I’ll be honest, I said it last season but this one is my biggest yet.

“I feel as if I need to try and stake my claim in the team and keep my place as much as I can so that I can prove my worth and then we’ll need to see what happens in the summer.

“People might think that a lot of pressure comes with signing a deal like that – but I wouldn’t say so.

“I feel as if you’ve got a bit less pressure on you because you’ve got that three-year spell to get settled and really kick on, have a bit of security you might normally not have.

“Under Hoppy I probably got too comfortable in myself and to be honest that’s why I probably never played as much.

“Looking back I probably never gave it as much as I should have in one scenario or another, but I think that this season I can definitely do that and come back stronger.

“It’s all about getting that extra bit of edge, that hunger back into my game which is what the gaffer now says when I talk to him.

“He tells me that I need to get a bit of hunger about myself, even in training, and I feel that he’s definitely given me that whilst working with me in training and he’s brought that back for me.

“I’ve obviously had a couple of good games now and hopefully I can continue to do that and cement my place in the side because it’s the worst feeling in the world not playing.

“I want to play as many games as I can between now and the end of the season. I honestly couldn’t tell you when I last started four or five games in a row.

“That builds confidence playing games. I just hope that I can keep on playing games, building confidence and really being the player I know that I can be.”

The midfielder now hopes to live up to the early promise which saw him make the breakthrough at Cappielow in 2018 by building on his promising performance against Raith Rovers last Saturday.

He says: “I’m fully aware that people had really high hopes for me when I signed my deal.

“I feel as if when I was a wee bit younger a few years ago that the hopes were there and that’s why I signed.

“Back then I feel like I didn’t get the run of games that I needed after the new year to really kick on and be the player that I know I can be.

“This is my second chance as such so I hope that I can prove to people who I can be and match the expectations that they used to have of me."

Lyon hopes that he can prove his worth in his favoured position in the middle of the park and is delighted at being paired with Brentford loanee Jaakko Oksanen.

He added: “The gaffer hasn’t really said much to me about having to wait for a chance.

"I know I’ve got to work hard and earn my chance, so I’ve just stuck by at training and done just that.

“We’ve had a few boys missing which allowed me to try to come in and show what I can do.

“I haven’t really been playing in my preferred position as some people would put it, but that doesn’t really bother me – I’d play in goals if I needed to.

“I’ve come in and played in the middle on Saturday [against Raith Rovers] with Jaakko and it just felt natural to me and comfortable and I feel as if I was able to be back to my normal self in a way.

“Jaakko is really composed on the ball. Even in tight situations he likes to get a foot on the ball and pass it around, similar to me in a way.

“Obviously it's hard at times to pass it like Barcelona in the Championship but when he can, he’s bloody good at it. He can run as well – we did a bleep test the other day and he just didn’t stop.

“He could keep the ball in a phone box and he’ll be a big player for us going forward."