KYLE Jacobs says he will be going into Morton's Premier Sports Cup group campaign to cement a first-team spot.

The Ton skipper admitted he was 'disappointed' with the 14 starts he received in the Championship last season.

Jacobs is aiming to pin down a place in Dougie Imrie's engine room but knows he'll face some tough competition for places come July 9 when Falkirk visit Cappielow for the League Cup opener.

He told the Tele: "There is obviously going to be competition for places under the gaffer.

"I was a bit disappointed with my game time last year, but the team did well so it was tough for me.

"I just need to come back for pre-season and show the gaffer what I can.

"If I can get my place in the team in the League Cup group stages then I just need to try and keep it.

"It is a cup that we will be looking to do well in."

The Morton squad will return for pre-season training on June 15.

As Jacobs readies himself for his third full season at Cappielow, the South African says the players will need to hit the ground running when they come back to training.

He said: "I am looking forward to it.

"We had a good end to the season last year, so hopefully it is going to be another good season under the manager because he has done well since he has come in.

"He can bring his own players in now as well, but I am expecting that it is going to be a tough pre-season.

"Everyone will have to be ready for it because it is going to be tough.

"I think the boss will want to get us up to speed as quick as possible."

The Morton captain believes the draw for the competition, which sees Ton open the season against Falkirk on July 9, gives his side an opportunity to progress.

The 30-year-old said: "We have a good chance if we apply ourselves well and continue the form that we had in the second half of last season.

"It is a tough group as you have some big teams like Hibs and Falkirk, even though they are in League One. We have Bonnyrigg Rose who just came up to League Two.

"It is going to be tough, but we have to fancy our chances if we apply ourselves and do what the gaffer asks of us. I think we have to go into it with confidence.

"Hopefully we can progress."

The early start to the group stages has divided opinion in recent seasons but Jacobs says the early start to the campaign suits him to a tee.

He added: "I don’t mind it to be fair. I just want to be playing games, it has been like that for a little while now.

"It is just something that we are used to.

"It does feel like a sort of pre-season cup competition, with us being back and only having a couple of weeks before we are back into match action.

"It is a bit of a weird one but it something that we have adapted to.

"With it being so early on it's good because it gets us straight into games."