Saints turned down offers but I’m happy where I am SAYS LEWIS MORGAN
AS a young man who can presently do no wrong with St Mirren, deadline day for Lewis Morgan ought to have been an uncertain but potentially exhilarating time in his life.
Instead, a combination of backbone at boardroom level in Paisley and the commendable man-management skills of Jack Ross ensured it was a rather sedate affair.
By the close of play on Thursday, despite the world and its uncle being linked with the free-scoring 20-year-old, an improved bid from Burton Albion was the sum total of the offers on the table.
It appears that only if the headed notepaper on the faxes indicated interest from Bayern or Barcelona, would the Championship club have taken notice.
‘I knew the club’s stance on it earlier on in the window when they turned down bids,’ said Morgan.
‘Jack Ross is open and he spoke to me about things early on and I knew it was one that wasn’t going to get done in this window.
‘Knowing that, I was able to ignore everything that was going on. The club kept me in the loop. Just for my sake, they were letting me know what was going on at each stage and it did help.
‘They had already lost Stevie (Mallan, to Barnsley), so I knew it wasn’t something they’d be looking to do.
‘I knew there were a handful of clubs who were interested but I think only one club in the end actually put in formal offers and they were knocked back. It was obviously a sign of intent for St Mirren as the money they knocked back was good money. I suppose that gives me the belief that I’m wanted at St Mirren.’
His final point is not up for debate. The former Rangers youth has played all bar one minute of his side’s four league games to date and has been pivotal in three of those, which have resulted in victories.
Two-footed, technically excellent and ravenous for the football, Morgan has all the attributes to follow his former team-mate Mallan to the English Championship in the near future.
For the time being, however, he recognises that under the tutelage of Ross, St Mirren is a perfect environment for his talent to continue to flourish.
‘The main thing for me is that I’m at a club where I know I’m going to be playing most weeks — and I’m enjoying my football,’ he insisted.
‘I want to go and play at a higher level one day but at the moment I’m more than happy to be where I am. I’ve added loads of goals and assists to my game, so I’m just happy to be where I am in a team that is challenging.
‘St Mirren want to get back to the Premiership. I think there will be a time when I do move on. If that’s next year, then so be it. But you can get too caught up on it.
‘I’ve only got a year left on my deal, so I’m sure there will be more talk in January and I’ll have to deal with that when it comes.
‘Getting more games under my belt can only be a positive.’
Such patience is not always so prevalent in talented players of his age. Many, with avaricious agents whispering in the ears, spit the dummy and demand a taxi south on the basis that it’s a short career.
That may be true but as SFA performance director Malky Mackay recently underlined, you can only ascend the ladder if you are featuring regularly come Saturday.
‘After the last game against Estonia he (Malky) was in and was saying how important it is that boys my age are playing firstteam football,’ explained Morgan, who is with the Scotland Under-21 squad as they prepare for Tuesday’s European qualifier against Holland in Paisley.
‘There are maybe boys in academies at bigger clubs but they’re not getting game time. Yet there are a lot of young boys in this squad who have played loads of first-team games.
‘I think there has to be a bigger impetus on boys playing first-team football. I just want to be playing football. If it was going to be the right move, it would have been hard to turn down, but knowing I was going to be one of the main players at St Mirren was always going to suit me.’
For now, at least, the supporters can rest easy. Morgan has already crossed off a few items on his season’s ‘to do’ list but there remains a sizeable number of objectives he intends reaching before bidding a fond farewell.
‘I’ve got five goals and five assists in nine games so far, not that I’m counting!’ he laughed. ‘I said at the start of the season that I wanted 20 goals and I’m already a quarter of the way there.
‘I try to improve each year. Last season I had ten and it’s something I’ve recently added to my game.
‘If I aim for 20 and get 15, it’s better than last year anyway. As long as I’m improving.’
With St Mirren nicely tucked in with the pack chasing leaders Dunfermline, the positivity radiating through the club should give him every chance of achieving his goals.
In Ross, he sees a young manager who seems tailor made for his current environment.
‘I remember when he came in last year, he signed a lot of boys and I was actually out of the team,’ recalled Morgan.
‘It might actually have given me a wee boost to get going again. He’s been brilliant with me and he talks to me all the time. He has given me a wee bit of a free role, which has been suiting me. We’re really close and get on really well.’