KING: ‘NEW DEAL WAS A NO-BRAINER’ Inset picture: GMFC
Defender wants to cement place after signing extension
ALEXANDER King says he didn’t think twice about extending his stay at Morton after putting pen to paper on a contract extension which will keep him at Cappielow until the summer of 2024.
The youngster has been an ever-present around the Ton first team squad this season and hasn’t looked back since making his first start in the final game of last term against Arbroath.
The 18-year-old has made 16 appearances in all competitions so far and has provided Lewis Strapp with stiff competition for the left full-back berth.
King says he is delighted to have his future settled so he can focus on continuing his development under Dougie Imrie.
ON a beautiful November morning, with perfect conditions for running, jogging or walking, 83 people completed the course.
Two were first timers, Paul Dillon and Gillian Sinclair.
Seven new personal bests were recorded by David Benham (20.00), Max Byrne (21.23), James Sutherland (22.13), Rhuaridh McLaren, right, (24.22), Katie McAuslan (24.59), Angela Judge (31.26) and Laura Sidwell (32.13).
Representatives of nine different clubs took part this week.
One milestone was achieved by Ross Morrison, who took part in his 25th parkrun.
This week, two seconds separated first and second place, with Paul Monaghan (16.51) finishing ahead of Andrew Osborne (16.53). Neil McLaughlin was third in (17.29).
Fiona Macfarlane, with a time of 21.44, led the ladies home. She was followed by two runners from Bellahouston Harriers, Angela Campbell (22.55) and Laura Ritchie (23.10).
Greenock parkrun can only go ahead each week with the help of volunteers.
This week, they were Steven Watson, Graham McGrattan, Matthew Young, Campbell Macfarlane, Graham Smith, Iain McKenzie, Charlotte McKay, Jon Hammerman, Margaret Ann Scott, Eric Lindsay, Tracey Howe, Vanessa Cheng, Marjorie Morrison and Arashk Mohseni.
A big congratulations to ‘resident photographer’ Tracey Howe who was a parkrun volunteer for the 99th time.
Tracey completed her 100th volunteer stint at Sunday’s junior parkrun.
This is a remarkable achievement considering she only came along to the event for the very first time not much more than a year ago. Organisers thank Tracey for her dedication to parkrun.
The volunteer rosters for the coming weeks are looking rather bare and with the extra festive runs on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day organisers are going to need loads of helpers.
Anyone who would like to help can email greenock@ parkrun.com
He told the Tele: “I am delighted with the way things are going just now, so it is good to get the deal done.
“It was an easy decision. I am happy here.
“I will just try and kick on and hopefully get on the pitch. I spoke about it a bit to the gaffer and I said I wanted to stay here.”
The Morton academy graduate feels making the step-up to first-team football has been an important learning curve and he is picking up valuable advice off the seasoned pros in the squad.
King said: “I feel like I am learning a lot off the experienced boys in the team.
“I just need to try and take these things into my game.
“I try to soak in the information, and do what I can when I get time on the pitch.”
King came onto the park with 13 minutes of normal time remaining in Morton’s 2-1 win over Cove Rangers last weekend.
He believes his side did well to come away victorious in tricky conditions.
He said: “It was a tough one. The boys showed real determination to keep going and push for that goal.
“To come away with the three points at a tough place like Cove is a good achievement.
“I was told to just freshen it up a bit and impact the game and keep the win. “When I came on we conceded but we got the goal, so that was good.
“The conditions weren’t the greatest but it was a good win.”
King will be hoping for further first-team action as Ton host Queen of the South in the Scottish Cup third round this Saturday. He insists overcoming the Doonhamers will be no mean feat despite Willie Gibson’s men dropping down from the Championship into League One last season.
He added: “It is a break from the league, but we are going into the game with the same mindset as we have the whole season really, and just to try keep the run going.
“Queen of the South will not be a pushover, but we will go into it with just the same intentions.
“There are a few familiar faces there, so we know what they are capable of.
“We will head into it with the same attitude and workrate and hopefully we will get the win and go onto the next round.”
PARKRUN