MICHAEL TIDSER has hailed the signing of Morton's two French trialists and believes their capture can herald a more passing style of play next season.

Fouad Bachirou, pictured, and Tarik Bengelloun have agreed one-year deals with Ton and Tidser has been impressed by the technical skills of both players.

Bachirou, in particular, a former PSG youth player nicknamed 'Fred', has been highlighted by Ton manager Allan Moore as a good foil for Tidser in central midfield. "I like Fred. I call him Claude Makelele," said Tidser.

"He does a lot of the ugly work, but he can play as well. He has good feet and can pass the ball well.

"I do enjoy linking with him. He's also a great wee guy to have around the place and is always smiling.

"You can see he's been brought up the right way.

"It will take him a bit of time. In my first five games I didn't know what had hit me, but Fred's got good touch and I'd like to think he will be able to cope.

"Bristol Rovers (the 3-1 defeat on Saturday) was the first time I had really seen Tarik in a game.

"He looked sharp and bright and linked up quite well with Peter (Weatherson)." Tidser hopes their signing will usher in a more fluid style of play next season. "There are good footballing teams in the division like Ross County and Dunfermline," he added.

"I'd like to think we can match those teams next season. "I don't know quite what the problem was last season but the football could be quite back to front at times and that doesn't suit my game. Hopefully, with players like Fred and Tarik, we can play a more passing style." While Tidser's technical gifts are not in question, the one area he needed to develop was his fitness.

Now he admits he has never felt better physically. He said: "The last 15 to 20 minutes of games are important and we want to make sure we are fitter than other teams." Meanwhile, Morton have signed David MacGregor on a new one-year deal. MacGregor is the club's longest-serving player and offers manager Allan Moore options in defence.

Moore said: "I've been really impressed with David during pre-season training."