By his own admission, Morgyn Neill came to Cove Rangers from Dumbarton last summer as an “old school defender”.
Upon signing in June 2021, he described himself as someone who would “put my head through a brick wall.” It did not seem like a prototypical Cove player.
But over the course of the season Neill has adapted and improved with the ball at his feet. It is a pre-requisite for a Paul Hartley side to be able to play out from the back and Neill has become more comfortable as a ball-player from defence.
“Joining Cove, I had to adapt to the way they play football,” said Neill. “Going into a lot of games we expect to have a lot of the ball and I have adjusted well to it.
“I feel I’ve brought a bit of old-school defending to the team. I feel I’ve progressed (with the ball at his feet) but that’s not just down to me; that’s down to players round about me that help me.
“It makes a difference with better players. When you’ve got guys like Iain Vigurs, Fraser Fyvie, Blair Yule and Connor Scully, you can give them the ball all day long when they’ve got a man right behind. They’re that comfortable on the ball, it helps you.
“I always believed I could do it but maybe at previous clubs, you’re not dominating the ball and the parks you’re playing on doesn’t help the situation.”
Neill’s physical stature is something Cove have tried to utilise too, with the former Stenhousemuir and Livingston centre-back taking pride in being a threat to opponents in an attacking sense.
“I’ve chipped in with some important goals and I take pride in that,” he added. “I’m a threat in the air.
“We work on set-pieces a lot. Every Thursday we try to find combinations to work on and execute on a Saturday.”
Neill has been an ever-present in Cove’s remarkable run, which has seen them remain unbeaten in the league since October.
They were victorious last time out against Clyde and are five points clear at the top of League One, with seven games remaining.
Cove head to Montrose tomorrow trying to extend that run. While Neill set his sights on the title at the start of the season, he will not be getting ahead of himself.
“When you’re on a run like we’re on, teams will be thinking ‘can we be the team that ends their run’,” said Neill. “All we can do is keep doing what we’re doing and hopefully the result is positive at the final whistle.
“There’s not really anybody on the team who gets carried away and it’s the same with the coaching staff. They try to be positive but level-headed.
“It’s not easy. We’ve had injuries and Covid and I don’t think there’s been many games where we’ve had a full squad to pick from.
“But I believe it doesn’t dent our team if we have to make changes. People that maybe have not played are just as good as the ones on the park.”
Saturday is also the start of a run of four away games for Cove, with title-challengers Airdrieonians next weekend followed by Queen’s Park and Falkirk.
“They are the games you want to be involved in,” added Neill. “They are top-of-the-table clashes where everyone has something to play for.”