JACK Baird has revealed his bond with Morton supporters is the main reason he has returned to Cappielow.

The defender will put pen to paper on a two-year deal having played the previous two campaigns at fellow Championship side Ayr United.

The 26-year-old spent a year on loan at Cappielow in the 2019-20 season from St Mirren before his spell at the club was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic curtailing the campaign.

Despite arriving from Ton's Renfrewshire rivals, Baird became a fans' favourite under David Hopkin and the centre-back says the backing he received from the supporters is one of the main reasons he wanted to come back to the club.

He told the Tele: "I am very excited and really happy to be returning.

"I had a great time there when I was obviously on loan the first time. I was gutted that the season was cut short with Covid.

"I felt like I always had in my head that I wanted to go back at some point in my career and I am happy I am able to do that now.

"When I was there on Monday I saw a lot of familiar faces which was nice.

"When I was there before the fans took to me quite well considering I was on loan from St Mirren which was good.

"I have never forgotten that to be honest.

"That is why I was keen to come back as well.

"It was a nice time for me being there and I felt like I was appreciated and it was a good time for me in my career."

Baird is Dougie Imrie's first summer signing and the defender says the side's turnaround under the Morton manager last season was key in convincing him to rejoin.

He said: "Obviously how well the gaffer has done since coming in impressed me a lot.

"I played against him before when he was at Hamilton and when I was a young boy at St Mirren he was there.

"I didn’t know him but I was fairly familiar with and he played a massive role in getting me to sign."

Having played with some of the Morton squad in his previous spell, he hopes they can commit themselves to the club with some of their futures still to be decided.

He said: "There are boys who are out of contract I know from before.

"It would be nice to see them sign, but that is out of my hands. I was just happy to make sure that I would be there.

"From this point onwards, it is up to the players or the club themselves to sort something out and then we will see what happens.

"I am sure there will be some familiar faces and some new ones by the time I go back for pre-season."

Getting his immediate future sorted out as quickly as possible was important for the defender who can now focus on getting ready for the season ahead at Cappielow.

Baird added: "I am really looking forward to it. I don’t like the time in between when you are looking to possibly leave a club or you are trying to get somewhere new.

"That two weeks in limbo, I'm thinking 'am I better doing this or am I better staying at Ayr', but that wasn’t the case.

"I was really happy to come to Morton and I am happy that I have got is sorted really early in the off-season.

"This way I can just concentrate on being fit, coming back and starting well."