CARLO Pignatiello says manager Dougie Imrie made it clear Morton's threadbare squad could not be used as an excuse before their Premier Sports Cup clash against Falkirk.

The Greenock side began their season with the stalemate at Cappielow before missing out on the opportunity to claim the bonus point on offer in the shootout, with the Bairns winning 5-4 on penalties.

The utility man, who played in the unfamiliar centre-back position, was one of only 12 fit players available for selection, with a number of key men missing through injury as well as Grant Gillespie and Jack Baird unavailable through suspension.

However, the former Livingston man revealed the manager told the players they could not use the lack of options on the day as an excuse.

He told the Tele: "It obviously wasn’t ideal, but the manager told us before the game that was not an excuse.

"Despite the lack of numbers, I thought everyone did well and contributed to the game for us."

Making his Ton debut on Saturday, the 22-year-old thanked the fans for their encouragement.

Pignatiello said: "I thought the support was great and the fans got right behind the team.

"They could see we were down to the bare bones but we gave it everything and they got right behind us."

Versatile Pignatiello is capable of playing both in central midfield as well as right-back, however, he was asked by Imrie to fill in at centre-back alongside left-back Lewis Strapp.

The pairing remained solid throughout, limiting the visitors to few chances.

The former Dumbarton man says help from his team-mates made the task easier, even after Morton were reduced to 10 men when Jai Quitongo was sent off.

He said: "I have never played there in a proper competitive game.

"But playing with Brian Schwake, Darren Hynes and Strappy made the game a lot easier for me.

"I couldn’t really see the tackle [on Liam Henderson] to be fair.

"But the manager was just interested in how we were going to set up in the second half.

"I thought we did well because I felt we still looked dangerous on the counter."

With opportunities to all three points during the 90 minutes, Pignatiello believes the result could have been different but they are now looking forward to facing League One side Clyde on Saturday.

He added: "I thought we had a couple of good chances and that on other days we would probably have taken them.

"But that is football, we never and that’s the difference between winning and drawing the game.

"There should hopefully be more bodies back for next week, which will give everyone a lift."