JIM DUFFY is hoping his summer rebuilding work will pay early dividends at Morton as he gears up for their Renfrewshire Cup clash with St Mirren.

The new Greenock gaffer has spent the last few weeks overhauling his squad after replacing Kenny Shiels in the Ton hotseat.

The likes of Lee Kilday, Conor Pepper and Andy Barrowman have all completed switches to Morton so far this summer and there could be a few more new faces for the Cappielow crowd to cast their eye over this afternoon.

Morton will be amongst the favourites to claim the League One crown this term and clinch an immediate return to the Championship.

And Duffy is eager to see his side get off the mark quickly as they get set to host their Renfrewshire rivals this afternoon.

He said: "It has been a lot of work in a short period of time, and a lot of player recruitment.

"The vast majority of the players I knew of and there were one or two we had to get in for training.

"The ones I didn't really know where the ones that were at Morton.

"It has been really enjoyable and now we are getting closer to the start of the season.

"Hopefully we have got more right than wrong.

"We might have one or two trialists.

"We are getting closer to the start of the season against Spartans so we need to get as close as we can to make sure that the guys know each other.

"We have had four closed-door games and the game against Rotherham, so we have had matches to get ourselves up to speed.

"The boys have worked really hard and I am sure they will be looking forward to the game."

Morton head into the cup clash with the Buddies aiming to retain the silverware they won in Paisley 12 months ago and keep the local bragging rights from their neighbours.

But Duffy insists it is the Petrofac Training Cup meeting with Spartans in seven days' time that is his top priority ahead of the visit of Tommy Craig's side this afternoon.

He said: "St Mirren is an awkward one. In the eyes of the fans, it is a big match.

"But if you look at where both clubs are, there is a massive gulf there.

"If it was any other Premiership side playing against a League One side it would be considered a major shock if the League One side managed to get a result.

"With it being the Renfrewshire Cup, the expectation is there that we should be competing on a level playing field.

"There is a bit of responsibility on the players.

"It is a big game for the supporters and hopefully we are up to speed and can give a good account of ourselves. We want to compete as well as we can.

"The team against St Mirren will certainly be close to the one for next week but it might not be exactly.

"In football, you don't know what you will have the next week. You might have one or two knocks.

"But we will certainly be getting closer to it against St Mirren and we will see how we do after that.

"If we perform well, you might think that is us just about there.

"If we don't, we might have a rethink ahead of the Spartans game."