Jim Duffy says that even he has been shocked by the consistent performance levels of his Morton players as they have stormed into the play-off places in the Championship.

The Cappielow side currently sit third in the league table after keeping up their almost year-long unbeaten home record last week with a win over Queen of the South.

Duffy admits that even he didn’t expect his men to maintain such a high level throughout the campaign, particularly in the face of the numerous obstacles they have encountered along the way.

“The players have even surprised me with the level of consistency they have managed,” Duffy said. “Especially with the amount of injuries and difficulties we’ve had right through the campaign.

“Right at the start of the season we had key players missing, and that’s been the case all the way through.

“So, I think for a tight squad and with a tight budget, the players have been outstanding. It’s been a pleasant surprise we’ve managed to maintain that consistency despite the injuries and despite the fact that one or two players have obviously moved on.

“Andy McNeil went to China who was terrific for us in a lot of games and we lost Gavin Gunning in January as well. These were two important players for us in amongst the injuries.

“All credit to the players, they’ve put the team first and foremost when two or three of them at least have had to move position or been asked to do different jobs, and anytime we’ve asked them to do that they have done it with the right attitude. That’s been really important.”

Morton travel to Falkirk tomorrow to take on a team that have been models of consistency in their own right for a number of seasons.

Peter Houston’s side are currently one place above Morton in the table having played two games more, and Duffy is expecting a stern test against a side they might yet take on in the play-offs.

“The three league games have been draws, so that tells its own story,” he said. “We’re sitting second and third in the league, and that shows you how close the teams are.

“We’re very evenly matched and from our point of view, we’ve managed to match them in terms of consistency and that’s something they’ve been one of the best at in the past few seasons.

“Housty has got them up challenging all the time, and they’ve got a level of consistency there that threw the gauntlet down for other teams to try and emulate.

“We’ve managed to do that, but there is still a quarter of the season to go and we want to make sure we continue that.

“That’s the test of a progressive side, and we want to make sure we keep that going from the first game to the last game.

“We’re in a bit of uncharted territory in this situation, but hopefully the boys can keep working hard and finish the season strongly.”