LEE KILDAY has shrugged aside Morton's Petrofac Training Cup exit to Dumbarton and channelled all his thoughts into Ladbrokes Championship survival this season.

Jim Duffy's men bounced back immediately from relegation to League One last season.

But their season got off to a dismal start with the 3-2 cup defeat to local rivals Dumbarton.

Kilday, however, is refusing to read too much into the result especially since a number of players were missing.

The defender said: “It’s the first game of the season, so I don’t think we can take too much from the game because we obviously had a few players out.

“Obviously it is very disappointing to go out the cup, but the main thing is the league this season and that’s where we want to concentrate.

“That’s the main thing and it starts in a couple of weeks.

“It was good to get back on the park in a competitive game on Saturday but I don’t think anybody should be too worried about it.

“In terms of the game I didn’t think there was much in it. I thought they were decent but I don’t think there was too much between the teams.

“We gave away two silly goals in the first half and then the third in the second half. Again, we’re chasing the game here, like we did a good few times last season and managed to pull it back.

“And we nearly did it again. The gaffer said to us at half-time that it was just two silly mistakes and two good goals from them, and that it was all about character now.

“He said: ‘If you lose another one, you can’t chuck it. You never did it last season, so don’t start doing it now’.

“And I think at 3-0 we did keep going and did think we could get back into the game and we nearly did.

“But they finished the game well, up in the corner in the last five minutes keeping the ball really well.

“It was bit of experience from them, so we need to take it on the chin and look to next week.”

Kilday is relishing the chance of a Championship tussle this term but already expects Rangers and Hibs to be out on their own in the race for the title, leaving the rest to battle it out for potential play-off places.

He added: “I think it will be a difficult league. Rangers and Hibs are the only two who will be the better teams.

“But I don’t there will much too much between everyone else.”

The combination of Ricki Lamie and Michael Miller’s suspensions and the injury to Frank McKeown saw Kilday deployed in the centre of defence for the first time in Ton colours.

It is a role he is familiar with from his time at Hamilton Accies, and the 23-year-old, who turned out at right-back last term, admits it his preferred position.

He explained: “I played centre-half before I came to Morton and actually prefer it there to be honest. I really enjoyed it there on Saturday; it was nice to play there.

“I think it is probably my best position. It’s the first time I’ve played it in a year and a bit now, but I felt comfortable.”