NEW Morton manager Dougie Imrie has today promised to give supporters a team to be proud of after taking charge at Cappielow.

The 38-year-old penned an 18-month contract nearly eight years after leaving Greenock and has vowed to change the mindset of the club in their battle against relegation, with his first game in charge on Boxing Day against Queen of the South.

Imrie was renowned for his no-holds-barred performances as Ton skipper in 2013-14 and has told his players he expects the same level of passion on the pitch.

He told the Tele: “People know I played with my heart on my sleeve and that’s what they can expect from my team.

“They can expect 110 per cent every week, effort and commitment, the standards have to be high and I want the players to come in and play with a freedom.

“I want the fans to be proud of the team that’s on the park and that’s what I'll be putting across to the players, we need to be doing it for them as well.

“I know that we’re going through a tough period just now, the league table doesn’t lie and it’s now up to myself and the staff to go and put that right by keeping the club in the league this season and then going and challenging next season.

“The mindset of the club needs to change, players and staff included, we need to be changing that mindset to a positive and winning one ASAP and I respect the fans' views and understand that what they’ve seen hasn’t been good enough.

"We need them to come and back us and be a 12th man for us.

“I’m absolutely delighted to get it done, coming back to Cappielow has been a long time coming but I need to thank Livingston and David Martindale for allowing such a smooth process and allowing me to come here in the first place.

“I cant wait to get started now.”

Imrie, who famously scored the winner to knock Celtic out of the League Cup in 2013, is relishing the challenge of lifting Morton off the bottom of the table in his first managerial role.

He said: “It’s my first manager’s post at a senior level. Of course it’s going to be a challenge, but it’s one that I'm relishing.

“There will be a lot of noise coming from outside with it being my first opportunity and naturally there will be a lot of sceptical people but I've never been one to bother with all that.

“I know what I'm capable of, I've always been surrounded with strong characters and had one myself.

“I’ll be judged on results, which is fair enough, that’s what being a manager is all about.

“If I wasn’t up to the challenge I wouldn’t have put myself in the position, especially if I didn’t think I was capable of doing a good job here."

Imrie's first game in charge on Boxing Day will be played in front of just 500 fans with the Scottish Government yesterday putting crowd restrictions in place across Scottish football to tackle the spread of the Omicron variant for three weeks.

Imrie sympathised for the fans, who yesterday were dealt with a monumental blow in the news that attendances will be cut to just 500 spectators around the country.

He hopes that he can do his new supporters proud, albeit from a distance as he prepares for a Boxing Day face off against Queen of the South.

He added: “I’m gutted for the club. Over the last 18 months it’s been brutal with Covid from their point of view, so to be hit with that bombshell is heart breaking.

“For the fans, I'm gutted because they’ve only just got back in the last few months to watch their team and I'm sure that most of them would’ve liked to have come down to back the team again against Queen of the South.

“It’s a massive game for the club and myself. It would’ve been nice to have had as big a crowd as possible for coming back.

"It’s heart breaking for everyone involved in football that we’re being restricted again.

“Hopefully they can get back in soon and to a team that they’re proud of."