BARRING any more extreme weather Morton will kick off 2023 at the second attempt tomorrow by making the short trip along the M8 to face rivals Partick Thistle.

The Greenock men were put in cold storage on Monday after Cappielow failed an inspection ahead of the scheduled new year clash against Ayr United.

Plummeting temperatures overnight unfortunately left the pitch frozen, despite the fact that protective covers had been put down.

The loss of a second successive home game is regrettable as it has hindered Morton's momentum, cost them revenue and may leave the players somewhat rusty at what could turn out to be a crucial time of the campaign.

They will go into the clash at Firhill having not played since December 23 and that lack of match practice is far from an ideal situation, especially against opponents who have been kept ticking over, albeit with mixed fortunes.

Dougie Imrie's men were keyed up and ready to go on Monday and they fancied their chances of claiming a win against a United side which had just suffered consecutive league defeats.

All things considered it was probably a good time to be getting them and a decent gate was also in prospect to boost the coffers after no home matches in almost six weeks.

It will now have to be rescheduled to a midweek date along with the Queen's Park fixture which recently fell victim to the cold conditions too.

By the time Ton welcome Arbroath on January 28 it will have been two months since they last played in front of their own supporters, an unusual situation to say the least.

Between now and then they are on the road to Maryhill, Hamilton and then Glasgow's east end for a Scottish Cup fourth round tie against Celtic.

Tomorrow's clash brings the clubs in fourth and fifth position together and it promises to be a fascinating encounter.

After suffering a lamentable autumn Partick had got themselves back on track by collecting seven points out of nine and they went into their away game versus Queen's Park earlier this week in fine fettle and looking to leapfrog Ton and join The Spiders on 36 points.

A large away support followed them to Ochilview full of expectation but their day was to end in disappointment as Owen Coyle's outfit ran out 2-0 winners.

On the face of the result it seemed that the Jags' mini revival had stalled but by all accounts this was a match where they were unlucky to leave empty-handed, having controlled the game for large spells.

Even Spiders skipper and ex-Ton stalwart Lee Kilday conceded afterwards that his side had been under the cosh and were relieved when they netted a crucial second goal deep into the second half against the run of play.

Partick boss Ian McCall has declared himself happy with the performance of his players despite the result and will be hoping to maintain it tomorrow and gain some reward this time.

Ton and the Jags go into the game locked on 30 points, with the visitors having played two fewer games than their near-neighbours.

With new league leaders Queen's opening up a gap at the top, and mid-division Raith and Inverness now snapping at the heels of those sitting just above them, there is a lot riding on this game.

If Morton were able to go up the road and record a win it would be a big statement of intent and at the same time inflict a real bodyblow on a Thistle side who'd believed they were getting back into the mix.

On the other hand, the incentive is there for the hosts to put the cat right amongst the pigeons in the promotion race, if they can bounce back quickly from what was their eighth defeat of the campaign.

Morton will certainly be intent on putting on a much improved display from their last visit to this stadium back in October, when they were thrashed 5-1.

Imrie's side look a different proposition entirely from back then, but the way Thistle ran away with the game that afternoon was a reminder of what they can do when they are in the mood and get on top of teams - something they did again recently by knocking another five past Caley Thistle.

McCall's squad boasts plenty of attacking armoury and Morton will need to defend properly this time if they are to give themselves the best chance of taking something from the game.

They got the better of Thistle in the return match at Cappielow in mid-November while the Glasgow men were still going through their rut, and it will likely be tougher going tomorrow now they have injured players back and have improved.

Imrie can count on a full squad after a fortnight without competitive action and Ton travel with new signing Calvin Miller added to the pool.

He was a target the manager first identified in the summer and the Tele revealed how he had been training at Parklea after leaving English outfit Chesterfield in October.

Miller is hungry to repay the faith his manager has shown in him and could be the man to add the attacking threat Ton have lacked at times out wide, but the former Celtic youngster may have to wait for his first start, being more likely to begin this one on the bench.