Brew Boot Gave Al A Kick-Start

Jan 13 2008 By Gavin Berry

ALAN MORGAN last night thanked Inverness boss Craig Brewster for giving him the boot.

The midfielder feared the worst when Brew revealed Morgan was no longer part of his plans in the Highlands.

The 24-year-old was bracing himself to drop down a division with St Johnstone keen on taking him to McDiarmid Park.

But after signing an 18-month deal at Kilmarnock he believes things have turned out even better than before.

Morgan said: "Craig Brewster thought it was time for me to move on and he was probably right. These things can stare you in the face and you can't see it.

"I had been at Caley for two-and-a-half years and only played a handful of games.

"If the gaffer had given me a six-month contract I would have signed. But he pushed me to have a look at my career.

"In a backhanded way Craig has probably done me a favour by pushing me out the door at Inverness.

"He brought me to the club during his first spell in charge and wouldn't have wanted to highlight his own mistakes.

"I'm sure in other circumstances he would have liked to have kept me. But Inverness had other players in form and Craig had to work to a budget as well.

"It probably suited him for me to move on. Although I was disappointed at the time, looking back I can only say thanks for giving me the push."

Morgan helped make it a dream return to Inverness for Brewster during the gaffer's first game back at the helm against Hearts in September.

He came on as a sub alongside the player-manager and set up a dramatic late winner for Brewster.

Alan laughed: "The most recent headlines I got was Craig's first game back for Caley Thistle when we both came on and I set up the winner for him.

"He must have been lying in his bed thinking he was the hero that night but it's just one of those things."

Morgan hopes to become a regular at Rugby Park and wants to be in the team when they face Inverness on March 22.

The midfielder said: "In fairness to Craig he challenged me to prove him wrong for letting me go.

"Inverness were great for me and I don't have hard feelings - I owe Craig and the club a lot for signing me.

"Killie played them on December 29 but I wasn't registered until two days later.

"It would have been an interesting debut but I'm looking forward to the next game against Caley Thistle."