MORTON boss Dougie Imrie hopes that the loyalty shown by both parties through his new contract will pay off and ignite some special at Cappielow.

Imrie penned a new two-and-a-half-year deal on Sinclair Street last week after a lengthy round of talks which lasted almost a month.

Should the deal run to its conclusion in 2026 it would see Imrie, who is already the eighth longest serving boss in the SPFL, take his Cappielow term to nearly five years.

Imrie told the Tele: “I’m delighted that club feel like I'm the man to take them forward.

“They were brave to give me the job just over two years ago, a young guy looking to make his way in the dugout. To put that trust in me was very brave of them, but I’d like to think that in two years I’ve repaid their faith that they’ve put in me.

“Of course, there’s been some rough patches, particularly at the beginning of this season. But we’re now on a fantastic run that we want to continue. I’m honoured but I’m privileged to be here.

“I hope this extension shows that I want to be here, it also shows the relationship that we’ve got as a club too. There are some good people at this club.

“This club give a lot, so Andy Millen and I will keep pushing to make the team and the club better and I hope we can keep turning out decent results like we did against Arbroath on Saturday.

“Let's not beat around the bush, there’s not a lot of time in football anymore and I think the word loyalty gets banded about a lot. But it’s the catalyst for what’s going on here at Morton.

“I think I’ve shown the club loyalty by signing a new deal.

“The club have been loyal to me too, by sticking by me through some very tough periods.

“Just over a month after getting the job, I was handed a ten-game ban for the betting probe. The club stuck by me through that and supported me through it, they didn’t need to and not many would’ve.

“They’ve stuck by me through thick and thin and I really am appreciative of that, even the run where we were bottom of the league for a chunk of this season. I hope I can continue to repay them for that in this spell.

"I'm a guy who wears my heart on my sleeve and give my all. I’ll certainly continue to strive to win every game and we just want to keep pushing here and continue this run.”

Imrie admitted that talks on the new deal had rumbled on for a little longer than he’d have liked - but he believes that’s only because the agreement had to be right for both sides of the table.

Now he can put his full focus on Ton's promotion play-off hopes.

He added: “I think it was about three and a half weeks to get it done. We had to make sure it was right for both parties.

“There’s a long way to go yet this season.

“I think February will be pivotal, playing teams around about us.

"But we’re building something here, it’s been special up until now and I want to do better than that in the next two and a half years I hope I’m here for, if not longer.”