Morton striker Gary Oliver thought that a gruelling pre-season under his uncle Jim Duffy was the worst thing he would have to endure this summer, but how wrong he was.

As if a bout of tonsillitis to undo a lot of the fitness work he had under his belt wasn’t bad enough, a bad reaction to the medication he was given took things from bad to worse.

Now fighting his way back to full fitness though, Oliver is determined to return to action with a bang in tomorrow’s Renfrewshire derby against St Mirren.

“I was getting fevers with the tonsillitis, so I went to the doctors and they gave me a strong dose of antibiotics,” Oliver said.

“Unfortunately, those made my mouth come out in blisters and I couldn’t eat, meaning that I lost about five kilos, almost half a stone. I was really run down with it.

“That made me really weak and it was gutting after doing all that work in pre-season to be hit with that. “It really set me back, but I’m feeling more like my old self now and I’ve been doing my pre-season work all over again really.

“I’ve been getting extra running in after training and building myself back up, so I’m getting there day-by-day.”

One thing that kept Oliver going through those dark days was the incentive of making his return in such a huge fixture, and he is hoping that all of his extra effort will pay off and he can play a part in the match.

While he may not be fully match fit just yet, he is sure that the magnitude of the occasion would carry him through.

“When you get the fixtures at the start of the season, you always look out for the big games like St Mirren and Dundee United,” he said.

“I’d obviously love to be involved in the game, and I feel ready to make a contribution. I don’t know what the gaffer is thinking, but I’m ready if he gives me the nod.

“St Mirren are obviously doing well right now, they are a good team with good players, but there’s a determination in our camp to show them that we are still going to be up there challenging as well.

“We know they are a decent team, but we have players who can hurt them and we will be going all out to get the win. We know how much it means to the fans and we feel we are capable of beating them.”

Oliver has welcomed the arrival of Robert Thomson, Bob McHugh and the return to fitness of Jai Quitongo to bolster the firepower at Cappielow.

Although he knows that competition for places will be fierce, he reckons that defenders won’t fancy coming up against any combination of their strikeforce.

“I was a little bit isolated up there at times last season, so it’s great for the team to have so many options now,” he said.

“I’m still young, so it’s great for me to have experienced guys like Bob McHugh to learn from as well.

“We’ve all got different strengths, and while you always want to be involved, I just need to train as hard as I can, prove myself and try to stay in the team.

“It was frustrating being out with my illness, but I always want the team to win and the boys to do well. Hopefully I can make up for lost time now and get back to my best.”

Central defender Thomas O’Ware may also return for Morton on Saturday, and Oliver reckons that his presence could be key.

“We’ve had two young boys playing centre-half and they have done well,” he said.

“This is probably another step up though in terms of the test we will be facing, so it’s important to have all of your more experienced players back in the side.

“Thomas has done the same amount of training as me, so he should be good to go.”