MORTON boss Dougie Imrie is thrilled to be faced with the prospect of choosing from a full squad today for the first time this season as Partick call at Cappielow.

With Ton finally clear of injuries and suspension, and loan players back, the manager says it feels like he has made some new signings for the second half of the campaign.

With a full dressing room, Imrie will have to confine some players to the stand this afternoon and he says it is a nice dilemma to have.

Greenock Telegraph:

Imrie told the Tele: "Unfortunately for some people they'll miss out today, but for a change that's not because of injuries.

"The squad is full and we're over the 20 limit, which means that one or two will miss out, but that's just football. You can't have everyone sitting on the bench.

"It's a pleasant headache to have because we've gone through a difficult six months, at times we've only been able to choose from one or two subs. Now all of a sudden we've got the luxury of a full bench.

"That in itself makes it feel like we're getting signings in. The likes of Jai Quitongo, Calum Waters and Darragh O'Connor have been out for a long time. Michael Garrity and Alexander King are back from loan too, they're all like new signings for us.

"Our squad is now looking really strong and having a full quota to pick from is great for any manager.

"At the start of the season we had a massive squad but if I could've foreseen what was about to happen with injuries then we probably wouldn't have sent Alex and Michael out. It's okay to say that in hindsight though and they got valuable game time while they were away.

"But it really was brutal for a while, we were going to games with just one substitute and at times we were worried that if we made a sub at half time or early in the second half, someone could still go down injured and we 'd need to finish the game with ten men.

"It's not been great, I won't lie. But touch wood we're over it now. The boys are in a good place as is the club."

Greenock Telegraph:

Imrie also revealed his sympathy for players who find themselves stuck on the sidelines and says that people do not realise the personal toll it can take on them.

He said: "I really sympathise with the players in times like that, I never want to see any player get injured. Being out injured is brutal. You're missing out on bonuses and the like which can really make a difference at this level. When you're injured it affects you mentally too because all you want to do is play football on a Saturday."