LEWIS Strapp insists knocking back interest from two English clubs to stay at boyhood heroes Morton was his best option.

The full-back put pen to paper on a one-year deal this week to extend his career in Greenock to 2023.

With interest from down south as well as two Scottish clubs, the 22-year-old says he explored possible moves before deciding that staying at Cappielow was the right decision.

Strapp is now delighted to resolve his future under Dougie Imrie after weeks of speculation over where he would be playing next season.

He told the Tele: "I'm delighted to know what is happening with my future now that I have signed a one-year deal.

"Now I just want to get a good pre-season in and keep the head down this season and see what happens.

‘‘My agent and I had received interest from two Scottish and two English teams.

"I was still under compensation, so the Scottish teams didn’t really want to get into that.

"Going into the compensation thing would be opening a can of worms.

"We went down and got shown around [the ground of one of the English clubs].

"It was just a case of the timing wasn’t right.

"I just took my time and obviously Morton were still there and I thought this was the best decision."

Strapp says reassurance over manager Imrie's future was one of the reasons that swayed him into staying at Cappielow for another season.

He said: "That was one of the big factors.

"I am happy the gaffer is staying.

"There was a point I didn’t know if he was going to. You hear rumours flying about all the time.

"It's the same for fans and for players. He reassured me that he was staying, I think he phoned me when I was on holiday.

"At the time I didn’t really know what to say because I was kind of seeing what was out there.

"I'm just ready to put everything into having a great season and see what happens after that.

"I want to see what level I can play at and I will give it my best shot."

The defender says he is now happy his immediate future has been resolved and can get back to focusing on what happens on the pitch again with the start of the season fast approaching.

Strapp said: "It was left quite late. Now it is just about concentrating on the football and getting to know the boys.

"It has been a great start to training this week. All the boys are brilliant and we're ready to get the games started."

Strapp believes it has been important to keep the core of the team together as the Ton look to kick on from securing Championship safety last season.

He added: "We have a good base to the team from last year.

"One of the important things at this level is trying to keep a team together.

"It was important to try to keep a good group with a strong bond. There are no bad eggs.

"Now we just want to get into the games and get going."