MICHAEL Ledger believes the time is right for him to leave Morton after it was announced the defender will be departing the Cappielow club.

The ex-Sunderland youth player was part of the side who secured Championship safety with a game to spare.

The Englishman, who has been at the Greenock side for two years after joining the club from Queen of the South back in 2020, says he is leaving Greenock on good terms as he now prepares to find himself a new club ahead of the new campaign kicking off.

He told the Tele: "Looking back I have really enjoyed the two years that I have been there.

"I am moving on now and I am ready for a new challenge, but I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Morton.

"I am not leaving on bitter terms or anything like that.

"I thank everyone, the fans have been brilliant with me throughout the two years, and leaving the lads behind isn't easy.

"They are a good dressing room, it is not nice to move on but that is football. There are a lot of lads who will be in the same position."

The 25-year-old has thanked the club for showing faith in him last term and convincing him to stay put amid interest elsewhere last summer.

He said: "I came up to Scotland thinking I was maybe going to just be here for the year.

"I had a few options last summer, but the club really wanted to keep me and that meant a lot.

"They managed to persuade me to stay up for another year, and I am really glad I did.

"It feels like the right time now to look for something new.

"I have played away from home most of my career, so whether it is something closer to home I really don’t know.

"There are definitely options. I am pleased I did the two years here - I thoroughly enjoyed it."

The defender is one of a number of players who have been in discussions with the club in recent weeks, with first-team stars' futures yet to be decided.

But Ledger insists his departure was the best outcome for all parties.

He said: "It was mutually agreed, the club knew that.

"Last summer they tried to tie me down for two or three years and I said I would rather just sign the one year and see from there.

"The club knew my position and also I knew the club’s position."

Ledger has also paid tribute to the Ton’s supporters and he believes that they played their part in this season's revival.

He says he’s looking forward to seeing how the team progress under Dougie Imrie in the near future.

He added: "I wish the club all the best for the future. They are in a good place to kick on, I will be following them from wherever I am.

"I’ll be looking on, and seeing how they get on.

"It is a good club, I have really enjoyed it. The fans are brilliant, they are so passionate about the club, they travel in their numbers to the away games.

"They have been brilliant and they played a part in the turnaround as well.

"I will be looking on for the results, and I will hopefully get back up at some point to see some games.

"It is not an easy league to stay up in. The first year we did it in the play-offs, which wasn’t ideal, but it was still a good achievement.

"Then to get to 40 points this year and stay in the league was good.

"The only regret is the fact I think we could have pushed on and made the play-offs, which would have been remarkable after seeing where we were at Christmas."