Morton full-back Marc Fitzpatrick hopes their shock League Cup triumph over Celtic will be a shot in the arm for the Greenock men after a faltering start to their Championship campaign.
Morton stunned the Scottish champions with a 1-0 third-round victory at Celtic Park courtesy of Dougie Imrie’s extra-time penalty.
And Fitzpatrick believes the famous win owed much to their team spirit and work ethic.
“It was just one of those nights,” said Fitzpatrick.
“Celtic never really performed. We sat in and rode our luck a wee bit towards the end, but it was one of those nights where I think we could have played for ages and never conceded.”
Morton’s performance on Tuesday night was in stark contrast to their Championship form so far this season, which sees them second bottom of the table.
“I hope this is a platform to kick on,” Fitzpatrick said.
“The manager said to us after the game that if we dig in like that in every game we play then we’ll win more than we lose.”
With Celtic manager Neil Lennon fielding a strong side for the tie, former Motherwell and Ross County man Fitzpatrick felt the effort levels of Alan Moore’s side had more to do with the result than Celtic’s approach.
“They possibly took us a bit lightly, I don’t know,” he said. “With all the big games they have, I don’t know what their mentality would have been for Morton.”
Meanwhile, Barcelona face a defensive crisis ahead of next week’s Champions League trip to Celtic after Javier Mascherano was ruled out for “10 to 15 days” with a hamstring injury.
The Argentina international suffered the problem in Tuesday night’s 4-1 win over Real Sociedad and joins fellow defender Jordi Alba on the sidelines.
Alba was also diagnosed with a hamstring tear earlier this month to leave Barca without two first-choice defenders, while Carles Puyol is still making his way back from a knee problem.
The Catalans are therefore set to be stretched at the back ahead of next Tuesday’s tie in Glasgow where they were memorably beaten by Celtic last season.