Morton look to complete the double over Ayr United

The Greenock men were left cooling their heels on Saturday after the authorities decided it wasn't safe to ask Inverness Caledonian to make the journey down from the Highlands amid Storm Babet and the resultant weather warnings.

While most people will not quibble too much with that judgement in itself, it does make the bizarre decision to forge ahead with Morton's recent away game against Queen's Park look even more stupid.

While Caley were advised not to travel down a road that was open, this came just two weeks after Morton supporters, players and staff were sent to Glasgow on a day when Inverclyde was cut-off by severe flooding with the A8 and rail lines closed.

In the end they were of course only to name a squad of 14 players, with Jack Bearne's car coming to grief en route to Hampden via the back roads.

The lack of consistency when it comes to the two cases is galling and Morton were absolutely right to draw contrasts in their statement reacting to the call-off last weekend.

Manager Dougie Imrie was also justifiably unhappy at the lack of a level playing field and told the Tele: "I can only ask why it wasn’t the same a fortnight ago when we played Queen’s Park and we had had players who were either struggling or couldn’t make it .

“We had players playing in horrendous conditions, and putting themselves at risk even trying to get there.

“A couple of the boys got stuck in the water and one lost his car as a result.

"There needs to be consistency when there’s horrific weather and we need to call the game off.

“It's not sour grapes, we drew that game but we lost players in trying to get there and fans couldn’t even get out of Inverclyde."

The manager has also questioned whether Caley's injury problems had influenced their stance, something which may add a bit of spice when the fixture is eventually rescheduled and they come to Cappielow.

That can wait for now, as Morton have plenty on their plate over the next week.

Tomorrow's meeting against the Honest Men is followed by a home midweek fixture against Raith Rovers and a busy period is rounded off when they feature in next week's Friday night TV slot, hosting Dunfermline.

With three games in quick succession and two of them at home, Ton need a good yield from them if they are to turn things around from their current predicament at the foot of the Championship.

Alongside Caley on five points, they are currently six adrift of Queen's Park and the Pars, with Ayr a point further ahead.

They cannot afford to become detached and allow a gap to open up at the foot of the table at this critical stage.

While Ton were sidelined last Saturday, Lee Bullen's outfit were able to record an excellent 1-0 win at East End Park thanks to Logan Chalmers' first half strike.

The result brought up consecutive wins for them following their 2-1 victory in Airdrie the week before.

They will take heart from those two results and hope that they signal an upturn in fortunes after an indifferent start to the campaign which left their manager under some pressure after an excellent 2022-23 saw them finish second.

One of the defeats five they've suffered in the opening quarter came at the hands of tomorrow's opponents, on the opening day of the campaign.

Morton were good value for their 3-1 success on that muggy August afternoon, but things have nosedived dramatically for them since then.

Over the next week we will learn more about their ability to recover from the setbacks and slump they have faced.

It could be that all it takes is one win to act as the catalyst for them, but they have to find it soon.

The games between Ton and Ayr at Somerset Park last season were evenly matched affairs and both ended in 1-1 draws; a repeat of that tomorrow, running into successive home fixtures, wouldn't be a bad result.

A share of the spoils is something that the home side have yet to register this season, however.

With no middle ground in their form figures it has been a case of feast or famine.

And just like Morton, they have shown a vulnerability at the back, conceding 17 times as opposed to the 16 goals shipped by the visitors.

It doesn't automatically follow, of course, that we'll get a glut of goals tomorrow as a result.

In the topsy-turvy world of second tier Scottish football it could just as easily point to a dour, defences-on-top goalless draw - and that mightn't be a bad thing as far as the away side are concerned.