MORTON boss Dougie Imrie was all smiles playing Santa at Cardwell Garden Centre - but he has warned his defenders not to hand out any early Christmas presents to Queen’s Park this afternoon.
Dougie stood in for Father Christmas at the popular Santa’s Grotto in the Gourock garden centre, one of Morton’s shirt sponsors this season.
Morton are at home to Queen’s Park today hoping to make it three wins a row after beating Arbroath and Inverness in their last two SPFL Cinch Championship games.
But kind-hearted boss Imrie was happy to take time out of the pre-match preparations to put a smile on the face of local youngsters.
The Morton gaffer said: “It’s great fun hearing what the kids are asking for at Christmas. But there’s one present I don’t want to see getting handed out and that’s us giving away anything to Queens Park.
“It’s going to be a tough match, but we are on the back of two solid wins in the league and I certainly don’t want Christmas to come early for them when they come to our patch.
“We’ve got some hard games to play during this festive period, so I think I’ll be writing to the real Santa Claus asking for as many points and good performances as I can get!”
Cardwell’s retail general manager, Paul Carmichael thanked the Morton manager for being such a good sport.
He said: “Dougie was a superb stand-in for Santa, while our big man with the white beard and red coat was having a cup of tea and a mince pie in our Patio Café.
“Our Santa’s Grotto has been really busy this year and kids can come to Cardwell to see Santa every day now until Christmas Eve.
“I’m sure Morton fans would love Santa to bring them a run of good wins and performances this Christmas.”
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