‘MY TOP FLIGHT HOPES FOR TON’

AN American-based Morton backer says he wants to see the club playing in the Premiership. the dream of top flight football returning to Cappielow a reality by getting involved in the club’s business initiative, which launches tomorrow.

He told the Tele: “When I was a young lad, Morton was a place I would go on a Saturday with my family, and it was the only place we could go and it felt like a bigger family.

“Morton has always been dear in my heart, and I just really felt the need to give something back, and not take anything in return.”

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“I want to see Morton in the Premiership, I don’t see any reason why they can’t.

“They just need the fan support, and they just need the community support, and above all, the businesses in this town.

“It doesn’t matter how little you give, give something back, help the club, because the club will help the community.”

MCT director Sam Robinson says the business club can help build a bond between Morton and companies in Inverclyde.

He said: “The business club is about to not only enhance the commercial revenue that we get at the club, but also, we want to do it with businesses that share similar values that we have got.

“The idea of the business club is to try and relaunch it, and get people reinvigorated.”

Mr Robinson says they have been inspired by fan-owned Irish club Bohemians.

He believes developing their values and being an integral part of the community are just as important as having a successful team on a Saturday.

He said: “Talking to Bohemians in Ireland, they said that you need to sell your values off the park, and not just perform on the park.

“Twelve years ago, they were six million in debt but they had just won the Irish Cup and league and they were playing in Europe.

“They had to go on a values-based selling perspective, selling people our values of the community, of integration, of net carbon zero, of a new stand against racism.

“They had to build on those values and talk to companies on that, and that is what I spoke to Dalrada about.

“When I first approached Dalrada, it was about being carbon neutral.

“We are looking at modernising a 19th century stadium like Cappielow, and how we replace the floodlights.

“We are not just saying to Dalrada, ‘give us money and we will do it’. We are looking at a sort of business investment proposition.”