IT is a passionate love affair that makes Romeo and Juliet look like a holiday fling at Butlins.

Borne out of an intrigue and fascination for the beautiful game, this union has only grown stronger over the years as a set of trials and tribulations tested its resolve.

Promotions, relegations, administrations, title disappointments, cup hysteria, more managers you can shake a blue and white stick at, and the lure of the bright lights of Stoke, have done little to dampen the fires that still rage between these two.

It is a marriage made in Morton for Andy Bryan and the club he has held close to his heart for over 40 years.

The Cappielow side's kitman has now been a servant to the team from Greenock for four decades, a staggering achievement of loyalty and professionalism that has rightly earned him a testimonial against a Celtic XI on Monday, July 13.

Starting out as a ball boy at the age of nine, he progressed to help washing the socks, shorts and whatever else of Ton's reserve team; a truly thankless task.

However, his connection with his local team goes back even further than that. A four-year-old kid in Greenock captivated by the distinguished face of then Morton goalkeeper Erik Sorensen on one of his sister's football cards was enough to spark a life-long infatuation.

His fifth birthday treat – if you can call it that – was a trip with his mum to watch Morton lose 3-2 to Hearts at Cappielow. The result was not enough to put him off, though.

Four years later and a hand-written letter to Sorensen, who was then Ton's manager, saw him land a role as a matchday ball boy at nine years old, a post he held for six years until the responsibility of shaving and getting a job started to get in the way.

This was when he found his calling in life. Willie Gray, the then Morton kitman, called and asked him to help out on a Saturday with the reserves, and the rest is history.

It was the start of a journey that still continues to this day, where the 50-year-old now assists manager Jim Duffy and his squad prepare for a trip up into the Ladbrokes Championship.

Yet, even though Duffy has only been in charge at Cappielow for little over a year, he explains to SportTimes that he and Bryan first crossed paths back in 1982 when the then teenager's career was just in its infancy.

"I came on loan to Morton and I remember him and Duncan Shaw helped Willie Gray, they were just boys," said Duffy.

"He just looked like a young supporter and he'd tidy up the dressing room, deal with the kit and basically do all the jobs nobody else wanted to do!

"When you think back now you probably didn't realise at the time how enthusiastic he was. He was always a boy with a smile on his face and it wasn't normal practice for a young boy to be in there for nothing helping out.

"He did it because he had Morton in his blood early on and it has stayed with him all these years."

Bryan's involvement in first-team matters soon increased as his ability and passion for Morton and his job became more evident.

A disagreement between former club chairman Hugh Scott and Gray soon saw a vacancy open up as part of Billy Stark's backroom staff, and it was an opportunity grasped by Bryan to become a major part of the Greenock club's history.

However, the journey took a major turn for the worse in September 2000 when the club was placed into administration.

It left Bryan's future, as well as that of several others, shrouded in uncertainty. The crisis led the kitman to take up a job in a bookmakers just outside Cappielow, which allowed him to earn a living while still carry out his footballing duties for free.

Following a nine-month spell there, he was then brought back in full-time to Ton by new chairman Douglas Rae.

"He has worked so hard and seen all the trials and the tribulations at the club," said Duffy.

"He's been there through the administration and the rollercoaster of emotions that comes with that. But he's still someone whose heart is with Morton Football Club."

While that was undoubtedly the lowest point in Bryan's time at Morton, there have been many highs to balance things out.

Having seen Morton play in the B&Q Cup final in 1992 – he still has a game jersey to remind him of the pain inflicted by a 3-2 Hamilton Accies defeat – he was also in the dugout at Parkhead in September 2013 when Ton knocked Celtic out of the League Cup.

It brought about a memorable moment for a jubilant Bryan, who managed to trade a Morton substitute's jersey with Kris Commons for his at the full-time whistle. Moments later he then had to break the news to the unfortunate sub that he was going to have to find him a new top.

It is a relationship that has also seen others attempt to lead Bryan astray. An opportunity to work with the Scotland national teams was politely declined, as was an offer of employment from Barclays Premier League Stoke City.

"I was aware that Andy was offered a job not too long before I came in to go down to Stoke," admitted Duffy.

"People probably won't realise that, a bit like players, that backroom staff have the opportunity to earn a lot of money in that league. They are handsomely rewarded.

"The facilities are much better, plus you get to sit in the dugout at places like Anfield, Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge.

"I have to be very honest and say I was surprised he turned it down. It shows immense loyalty to Morton and you can't underestimate how big a decision that was for him. It's part of the reasons why he richly deserves a testimonial."

The game against Celtic a week on Monday will be a memorable occasion for Bryan. His dad, Andrew Snr, will be in attendance to see his son's moment in the spotlight for a friendly that will see a proportion of the gate receipts given to Ardgowan Hospice in Greenock and Erskine Hospital.

But will he get to see his boy pull on the famous blue and white hoops?

"Absolutely no chance," joked Duffy. "Seriously, if Andy wanted a few minutes of excitement playing in a Morton jersey against Celtic then I'd be more than happy to do it.

"We will wait and see. Maybe as the game goes on he might want a wee run on the park. There's not a lot of sentiment in football these days, but for an occasion like this then that's what it's all about."

*Morton will take on a Celtic XI at Cappielow on Monday, July 13. Admission is £10 for adults, £5 for OAPs and juveniles and £13 for a parent and child ticket.