Morrison keen to make an impression
GROWING up as a Rangers fan, Lewis Morrison remembers seeing Rhys McCabe pulling on the blue jersey and playing for his club.
Little did he know, that one day he would be living with McCabe in Riverstown, Co. Sligo preparing for the new League of Ireland season to start.
The 18-year-old joined Ger Lyttle’s troops last week having impressed during pre-season. The former Kilmarnock player joined up with Rovers on day one of pre-season, and has been here ever since.
He made his professional debut against Celtic for former club Kilmarnock in 2016 and was a huge prospect at Under-17 level for Scotland.
He spent a few months with St. Mirren, before leaving in December.
“I left St. MIrren in December, my agent is good friends with the gaffer so he just spoke to me and brought us over on trial really,” he said.
Having endured a difficult year last year, Lewis felt that he had to get away and try something different: “Last year was a horrible year for me in football. I got injured at the start of the year and got released by Kilmarnock. I signed a six month deal with St. Mirren and wasn’t playing there so I just had to get away from Scotland I think and try something different.”
He admits that he is no expert on the league, but with the help of McCabe he has been learning as much as he can.
“I’m not going to lie I didn’t have a clue about it. The gaffer gave me Rhys’ number so I spoke to Rhys before I came over and he was able to tell me all about it .
“I just knew Rhys, I grew up as a Rangers fan and I saw him play for Rangers so coming here I spoke to him. I’ve moved in with him for a couple of months until his missus is here and he’s looked after me!”
Training at a higher level has been a learning curve, but the youngster is more than will to adapt as quickly as possible.
“Back in Scotland it was just Under 20s level so training here is a bit more intense. The boys are on your case if you make mistakes but I’m enjoying it. The gaffer’s been great with me, the boys have been great.”
He knows that a good spell in the League of Ireland could provide a pathway for him to return to Scotland - if it goes well.
“The gaffer was saying that a lot of scouts and managers from England come over to watch games so hopefully that is a platform for me to get back playing at home.”
As for what kind of a footballer he is, Morrison describes himself with the utmost humility: “Not the fastest! I like having the ball at my feet, creating chances, I feel like I’ve an alright brain to play football with but I’m definitely not the fastest!”
As for his fitness, considering this is his second pre-season in six months, he’s confident he’s in good shape.
Rovers manager Ger Lyttle spoke highly of the youngster following the friendly against the Mayo League and he is pleased to have signed his man. “Lewis, for me, is a really good prospect. He made his debut for Kilmarnock last season against Celtic at Parkhead. We know he has talent. He’s been here for three weeks in pre-season from day1, we took him over and proved to us that he still has hunger. He’s only 18, coming 19. He has had a wee hiccup in his career, I think everything got ahead of him so quick. We took him over and had a look at him, he’s trained brilliantly and I think he deserves a chance and hopefully we’ll see the benefit of signing him.”
And this is a signing that the Rovers boss is excited about: “He’s a kid that I know a lot about from Scotland, talking to a guy I know there. I know his agent as well, his agent has an eye for footballers and speaks very highly of him. I wanted to see what he was like mentally here. He’s a Glasgow lad, could he cope with it, could he cope with being out in Riverstown, could he cope with training, could he cope with a lot of things. He’s ticked a lot of boxes. I think he’ll be an unknown player to the league this year but certainly I’m excited from what I’ve seen so far.
“It’s his goals and he sees things. For such a young lad he has pictures in his head before the ball even comes to him, setting play up and linking play up. Last year there was a statement that the SFA came out with and they gave their top prospects with five players to look out for and Lewis Morrison was in that so he’s well got, he’s played at near enough every level in Scotland, international wise.
Lyttle has made no secret of the fact that recruitment has been difficult at times, but he believes that players are willing to sign once they come to Sligo.
“Yeah recruitment here is difficult, it’s hard to attract players here. I believe once I get them here I’d be confident of signing them. Once they see the people, the ground, the support, everything, where they live, everything’s in place, it’s a beautiful place. In terms of our budget as well we have to respect that and fit into that. He gives us another attacking option that we lacked last year, he can play in several positions. Technically, he’s as good as any.”
There is an option for a second year on Morrison’s contract, something that Lyttle feels will benefit the club in the long run.
“We’ll have an option on him for the following year. It’s how I want to go about my business, I want to try and tie players down, and they’re doing well and if they are doing well we’re not losing out the following year by another club. I’m looking to try and build a team here. If you look at our squad it’s a wee bit young, we probably lack a bit of experience but I want to try and build a squad that’s going to be here for the next couple of years.”