Morris out to make amends

Jan 13 2009 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

THE memory of a squandered Hampden penalty will haunt Jody Morris for the rest of his life.

But the St Johnstone midfielder would love to compensate Perth fans by evicting Rangers from the Homecoming Scottish Cup at McDiarmid Park tonight.

Morris, with his vast experience of top division football in England and Europe, will be influential as Saints bid to avenge last term’s semi-final penalty shoot-out defeat – a result made even harder to bear after leading the Ibrox team in extra-time, courtesy of a Daniel McBreen strike.

The one-time Stamford Bridge player, tempted north and persuaded to linger by manager and close friend Derek McInnes, emerged from three days confined to bed with flu to step-up preparations for an eagerly awaited cup tie which will be beamed live by the BBC.

He said: “It’s a game we’re all looking forward to. But after injury problems during the first half of the season any game is welcome for me.

“For it to be a cup game against a big club like Rangers is a bonus.

There’s still a bit to go before I’m in tip-top condition but despite a our of flu I’m in much better shape than I was before the semi-final.

“My wife wasn’t even calling it man flu. She knows if I take to my bed there’s something wrong. I had a sore throat, headaches, shakes, the lot. But I’m over it and ready for Rangers.”

At Hampden, Morris was reduced to a walking wounded role in extra-time but had the courage to pitch-up in the shoot-out.

He said: “I was really struggling with my calf before the match. It was touch and go. And I ended up just plodding about after Goran Stanic was injured. It was either him or me to see out extra-time.

“That penalty miss is the only downside I’ve had on the park at St Johnstone, a real low point. It was so disappointing to miss it with a cup final place on the line. We were so unlucky that day.

“It’s something I’ll never be able to forget. Beating Rangers this time would help but that miss will stay with me forever.”

Morris, whose ability to retain possession will be more vital than ever against the cup holders, noted: “We are looking to win the title to secure promotion to the SPL. We want to go up this season. This will be a taster for us. It’s a chance we want to grab with both hands.

“Obviously Rangers have top players through their squad and they are playing a different style this season. There has been a lot of transfer speculation about Kris Boyd and other players but I know from my time at Chelsea that is all forgotten out on the pitch.

“To be honest, I’d rather Boyd had gone to Birmingham. His goals to games ratio must be as good as anyone’s in Europe over the last couple of years.”

But Morris is more concerned with imposing himself in an area likely to be frequented by Pedro Mendes, Barry Ferguson and Steven Davis.

“Of course it will be tough but I genuinely believe we are a better team than we were last season.

“We have gone 14 games unbeaten and we are high on confidence.

“They will be expected to do a job on us but we are proving a hard team to beat at the moment. At Hampden we pushed Rangers all the way and matched them for 120 minutes.

“But this time the tie is at our gaff and the manager will have us well prepared – so why can’t we win?” said the Londoner.