Morton v Inverness Caledonian Thistle match preview

The season has not panned out the way either side would have hoped thus far, with both toiling at the foot of the table.

Morton went into the summer looking to build on last year's near-miss with the promotion play-offs, while Caley had recovered well from a bad start to push up the division and sign off with a Scottish Cup final appearance.

Neither would have expected to endure such a bad start off the back of that, but here we are with Ton's hard-won reputation for being difficult to play against in danger of disintegrating and Caley forced to fire Billy Dodds just a couple of months after handing him a new contract.

It is of course, still very early in the campaign and the two clubs have plenty of time to turn things around.

There are also mitigating circumstances for their plight, particularly in Morton's case due to the injury curse they have been blighted by since day one, with Steven Boyd the latest addition to the casualty list after being forced off last Saturday.

But nevertheless they will need to show some tangible signs of improvement over the next few weeks, as this is a dangerous time of year when things can begin to slip away from a struggling side - slowly but oh so very surely.

It's a movie that Morton fans of a certain vintage have seen before over the decades. The team gets off to a bad start, is hampered by injuries, loss of form, lack of breaks and new players not making the impact required.

Losing becomes a habit, confidence evaporates, the crowd turns and all of a sudden you are slap bang in the middle of winter and in real bother.

That is the scenario that Ton and Caley want to avoid and to do so they are going to have to pick up the pace in quick order, having each collected a feeble five points by mid-October.

Both clubs believe they are better than what they have shown up until this point, but it's whether they can back that claim up or not which will determine what happens next for them.

At this stage there is no need to panic as no one is becoming detached, but a quick glance at the form figures shows that won't remain the case indefinitely if things don't change.

Inverness will perhaps feel they have started to turn the corner with the couple of results they have posted since appointing Duncan Ferguson as successor to the deposed Dodds.

He began his reign with a pulsating 3-2 win over Arbroath but arguably he might have been just pleased with the solid point and clean sheet earned at home to Partick Thistle the following week.

Those results have hauled the Highlanders off the foot of the table and it's clear Ferguson's arrival has lifted the whole club and given them a shot in the arm.

There are striking similarities with the immediate impact made by Dougie Imrie when he took charge at Cappielow almost two years ago.

He took a team that looked a racing certainty to be relegated and hauled them off the canvas towards mid-table respectability, so he knows better than anyone the kind of lift Caley will have had and how dangerous they will be tomorrow as a result.

But the manager will of course be more interested in his own side and how they can be galvanised for the big game.

They earned a creditable point against Queen's Park at Hampden in their last league outing a fortnight ago and this was followed up by last Saturday's 4-1 win over Kelty Hearts in the SPFL Trust Trophy.

But it is much too early to say if that represents tentative signs of a revival.

Morton had hoped that their excellent draw away to Dundee United last month was a sign they were leaving their bad start behind them, but they then fell flat by suffering disappointing defeats to Dunfermline and Airdrie.

It's been a case of one step forward and two steps back ever since the season began, so it would probably be unwise to read too much into their last two results.

But a first clean sheet in the league since April, progressing to the last eight of the cup and a hat-trick for in-form striker Robbie Muirhead are all reasons for encouragement.

Both teams will be sent out to win the game tomorrow and while matches involving clubs at the wrong end of the division are usually cagey affairs, this one might not fit that template.

With home advantage, Morton need to start strongly and carry what can be a fractious and anxious crowd along with them.

If they can put the visitors on the back foot it would be interesting to see how they respond, but however this one plays out it promises to be an engrossing encounter.