If Buddies come at us then Bob’s your uncle
McHugh relishes attacking Saints as Ton look to clean up
BOB McHUGH believes Morton will have a better chance of claiming three points against table-topping St Mirren than they do against some of the lesser teams in the Championship, because their Renfrewshire rivals will attack them.
McHugh has been frustrated at times this season as Morton have conceded cheap goals and then had to contend with sides sitting in deep against them.
But he is expecting Jack Ross’s side to come out all guns blazing in front of their own fans tomorrow, and he reckons that could play right into Morton’s hands.
“I think this is the type of game that will suit us,” McHugh said. “When you’re playing Dumbarton like we were last week, they’ve got quality but they are also defensively minded.
“When you give them a goal early on, you’ll always struggle to break them down if you don’t hit back straight away.
“Any three points in this league are hard to get, all the teams are so evenly matched, and especially in the derby away from home. But if we can manage to get three points this weekend it would be a great result.”
Morton have of course already tasted victory in the first derby of the season, winning convincingly by four goals to one at Cappielow with McHugh finding the net.
HE is hoping to burst the black and white bubble once more, but thinks it may well be a tougher test this weekend than the one they faced at the start of the campaign.
“There was a lot of hype before the first derby about St Mirren’s form, so you were never quite sure how they would respond to a defeat like that,” he said.
“Obviously they have bounced back well, and you just have to look at the quality in their squad to see what you are up against.
“But there is plenty of belief in our dressing room that we can go out and turn them over. You can draw on the belief from the last game, and look at what we did well and what caused them problems in that match. That will give us confidence.”
McHugh is loving life at Cappielow so far after signing for Jim Duffy’s men in the summer.
The striker isn’t fully satisfied with his own form though, despite bagging six goals so far, and he thinks there is more to come.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it so far,” he said. “I would have liked a few more goals though, and our form has been a bit patchy of late, but if we can sort the home form out and get a wee run together then I’ll be much more content.
“If we can eradicate some of the cheap goals we’ve given away and get on the front foot, it will be a different story.
“There’s not been a lot in the games that we’ve been beaten in, so we have to take the positives and go and get the win to push back into those play-off places.”