MORTON boss Kenny Shiels has admitted his side's slender SPFL Championship survival hopes have been hit by a six-player casualty blow.

The Cappielow club head to Alloa trailing second-bottom Cowdenbeath by 11 points with just 12 left on the table and also nursing a worse goal difference.

But while Shiels is resigned to relegation at some stage over the run-in, he is determined to go down fighting.

The Ton boss said: "We do not have our injury worries to seek.

"Gary O'Connor is out with an Achilles problem while David O'Brien, Jack Smith and Marc Fitzpatrick are also definitely out and we have a couple of others who are very doubtful.

"This is the last thing we need and it's a great pity as we have built some momentum over the last couple of games by beating Livingston and Dumbarton.

"But what we have to do is make sure that anyone who is wearing a Greenock Morton shirt gives everything."

Despite the fact his side are almost certainly doomed to make the drop, Shiels added: "We know that at times we have not produced the football the fans have deserved but I believe we have started to turn things around, albeit just too late.

"We must entertain the support and let them see that when we come back next season we are capable of mounting a real challenge to get back up at the first ask.

"Despite the fact we had three games last week we got some real consistency over the games with Dumbarton, Livingston Queen of the South.

"So we have given ourselves a standard we need to maintain for the final four games."