MORTON playmaker Ali Crawford says that earning their place in the hat for the Scottish Cup fourth round is all that matters - by any means necessary.

Crawford could make a competitive return to action this weekend after missing the last seven weeks through injury after being forced off against Raith Rovers with a hamstring complaint before suffering a separate injury in his calf.

Crawford, middle right, says his side must get their name in the hat by any meansCrawford, middle right, says his side must get their name in the hat by any means (Image: alex craig)

And he says that he returns to a squad that should be confident in making the trip to Somerset Park against Ayr United.

Despite being forced to remain idle last weekend due to Ton's Championship clash against Partick being postponed, Crawford says his side will still be buoyant heading into the tie against the Honest Men.

He told the Tele: "It's been annoying to have had to have come out of the team for five or six games - the boys have had to deal with a few highs and lows since then.

"But they've gone and got a good result against Raith the other week, which'll have lifted us heading into the Partick game.

"Obviously that got called off so we've got a break from the league this weekend so we'll try and use that lift to get through to the next round of the cup.

"I don't think that the performance really matters in the cup, it's just about getting your name in the hat for the next round.

"It would be nice to go out and win convincingly but if it comes down to it we need to roll our sleeves up and make sure we get there.

"You saw it last year, the club got a few big clubs to come here and Morton have shown that they can handle themselves against them so it's about getting into the hat to ensure we can do it again."