OPTIMISTIC Morton youngster Alexander King says the time he was forced to spend on the treatment table only reiterated his desire to make it in the game.

The 19-year-old made his first start in more than three months as he continues his recovery from a groin injury that saw him miss out on the run-in last season.

But he was back in Dougie Imrie's starting eleven last weekend as Ton travelled to Fife to take on Cowdenbeath in the SPFL Trust Trophy - and King hopes that he can continue to improve now he's returned to action.

King told the Tele that the time he has spent on the side lines has given him the chance to reflect on just how much he wants to carve out an extended career in the game.

"I was happy to get my first 90-minutes of the season," he said.

"It's been a while. That was three months or so that I was out for, or thereabouts. It was an eye-opener for me really.

"It showed me how much I really wanted to play football and it gave me that hunger to really come back stronger.

"Football's a game of ups and downs. Sometimes you feel quite rubbish about it and you want nothing to do with it, whereas at other times, you're flying and you can't get enough of it.

"Right now I'm in the mindset of just wanting to play as much football as I possibly can."

King is under no illusions as to just how hard he'll have to work to impress his manager.

And he admits that his first full runout of the season saw him realise just how much of a difference being properly match-fit really makes.

"I've been getting 20-25 minutes for a while now so it's quite a jump up," he said.

"It was tough, it felt like a bit of a slog managing my way through the game in different positions, but it's a big milestone for me.

"I've been building my fitness back up for a while now, so for me it's just about getting that match fitness to go in tandem with it now.

"Match fitness is totally different from just general health. There's no intensity like it.

"Every player wants to play in every game that they can. But it doesn't work like that.

"For me it's about getting my head down and working hard to try and impress in training and prove that I'm worth a place in the team.

"Hopefully that eventually comes, but it's a tough team to get into just now."

King says his side fully deserved their place in the last 16, where Ton will face Championship rivals Hamilton Accies.

He's now hoping the Ton can use the game as a platform to get their first league win of the season this weekend.

He added: "It was a well earned win. Cowdenbeath made it difficult for us so we had to push right up until the end, and we were delighted to get through to the next round.

"You get games where you're not at your best and you win, like Saturday, and then you get games where you play unbelievably and come away with nothing.

"We were just happy to get through to the next round, and hopefully we can use that as a platform heading into the Queen's Park game."