OUT of form Morton are in a difficult moment as they face the prospect of the long trip north to the Highlands to meet Inverness tomorrow.

After an excellent first half of the season, the wheels have unfortunately come off the bandwagon in recent weeks for the Greenock men.

Their 10 game Championship unbeaten run has been brought to a shuddering halt and they have not surprisingly slipped down the table as a consequence.

Winless in the last five, Ton have collected just two points from the last 15, have lost their way and are now in need of a reset.

From being just a couple of points off the top of the table not so long ago, Dougie Imrie's men now sit in sixth position, a full 10 adrift of Queen's Park.

It's difficult to pinpoint one particular reason for their slump, with a range of contributory factors at play.

They were in a sweet spot which was hampered by having a couple of home games postponed due to a frozen pitch, meaning they spent a lengthy enforced spell away from Cappielow.

The defensive mean streak they had established, a key pillar of their strong form through autumn and the early part of the winter, has also been eroded.

The Greenock men may still have the best goals-against record in the division but for how much longer, given they haven't recorded a clean sheet since late October?

They also look to have been unsettled by chopping and changing of the line-up, some of it enforced, some of it by choice, when a hallmark of their hot streak had been consistency in selection.

Aside from the collective, there has undoubtedly been a loss of form from a number of individuals, with Efe Ambrose, Cameron Blues, Robbie Crawford and Robbie Muirhead - who were all key figures during the good run - hitting a flat spot of late.

At the same time, number of new signings have arrived and are being integrated into the squad.

Some very dubious refereeing decisions have also played their part in adverse results over a number of weeks but that was certainly not the case on Saturday, when Ton were the authors of their own misfortune.

On paper, Arbroath at home was one of the kinder fixtures that a team looking for a kickstart could have had.

But despite their struggles against most other sides, the Red Lichties well and truly have Morton's number and their 2-1 win made it six points out of six in Greenock this season.

Between that and their strong record against them at Gayfield, Dick Campbell's men must wish they could play Ton every week.

And yet the game started so well for the hosts, with new signing George Oakley taking just four minutes to open his account and put them ahead.

They looked bright and busy in the aftermath of the goal and should have been able to go and exert some control from there, but instead the visitors began to gain a foothold as the first half wore on.

By the break Morton were looking uncomfortable at the back and had lost the initiative.

Arbroath were well on top from the outset after the break as the home side completely ran out of steam and ideas.

First they lost a very poor equaliser and although the winning goal which followed from Michael McKenna was a wonder strike from range, a player of his ability should never have had the time and space he enjoyed to pick his spot and arrow the ball home with laser-like precision.

Morton still had 15 minutes or so to find a way back into the game but they looked disjointed, could barely string two passes together and came close to conceding a third.

All told, it was a bitterly disappointing day at the office for them and they now have a few questions to answer.

The manager and his players have rightly had plenty of plaudits this season but they now need to show a positive response and fight their way out of this slump, as it would be a real shame to see all their good work from earlier in the campaign going to waste.

In the search for points over the coming weeks they will have to go back to basics and rediscover what made them so difficult to play against.

Attitude and application will be paramount tomorrow when they hit the Highlands to play Caley.

Billy Dodds' men will not have forgotten the 4-0 thrashing they suffered in Greenock during their own downturn and will be keen to atone for that.

They've rallied well since their well documented and damaging injury crisis began to abate, but suffered a midweek setback with a disappointing performance in the Scottish Cup.

Caley now sit a point above Ton in the league, and can fairly look towards the visitors' recent results and fancy their chances of picking up the three points.

If Ton could manage a draw from this fixture not only would it be a welcome point, but more importantly it would stop the bleeding.