THE fan investment group which owns Morton is set to hit the milestone of £500k ploughed into the club by supporters since it was established just three years ago.

By the time 2023 arrives, the contributions made by Morton Club Together members since 2019 will hit half a million pounds.

The money enabled an arrangement for the club's huge debt pile to be written off and paved the way for a community takeover from the Rae family after their 20 years in charge.

Monthly pledges from supporters have also ensured that the club has retained ownership of Cappielow and helped Ton through the pandemic and season of matches played in lockdown.

A year into community ownership Ton sit just three points off the top of the Championship under boss Dougie Imrie and Morton Club Together now has almost 1,000 members who are contributing cash.

Bosses at MCT have thanked members for moving the club into an exciting new era.

Founder and Ton director Graham McLennan said: “I couldn’t be prouder of how Morton fans and the Inverclyde community have clubbed together to support MCT and our football club.

“What we’ve been able to achieve in such a short time since the summer of 2019 is nothing short of remarkable.

"Importantly, Greenock Morton still exists as a football club for starters.

"It is now community owned, there is a key majority of MCT representatives on the football club board, the club is now in a better financial position than it has been for many years, we have new key club partners on board in Dalrada Technology and there's exciting new opportunities being explored to engage with our community even further.

"We owe all of that down to our members, who have been passionately contributing each month to move Morton forward.”

MCT chiefs say 'it can't be said enough how much we're indebted to each and every single one of our 945 members' for their support, feedback and advice.

They added: "The journey so far has been far from simple or straightforward, we knew there would be bumps in the road, but we hope you can all see some real positives on the horizon for Greenock Morton."

The Tele recently revealed how the club is exploring plans for a new money-spinning commercial development at the ground after securing ownership of a piece of ground just off Sinclair Street.

Board member Graham Barr said: “The club and MCT boards are working closely together on more projects that will show fans we’re here to work as hard as we possibly can to grow the football club we all love.

“Having been involved at MCT since day one, and on the Morton board as an MCT representative for over a year, it can’t be understated just how incredible the backing of supporters has been to get us to the stage we are at now.

“Everyone is pulling towards the same goal and it’s an exciting time to be a Greenock Morton fan.”