Morgyn Neill has lifted the lid on his Cove Rangers U-turn – revealing he considered himself an Alloa Athletic player before the late change of plan.
Neill had been told he could leave Cove by previous manager Jim McIntyre, however, a move did not materialise before the end of the loan window in September.
He had featured sparingly since and was due to move on loan to League One Alloa during the ongoing January window, prior to Championship Cove pulling the plug on the deal upon Paul Hartley replacing McIntyre as manager last week.
It turned into a whirlwind 24 hours for the 26-year-old centre-back, who is pleased to still have a future with Cove.
“I didn’t know anything about it – I was adamant I was an Alloa player,” said Neill. “I was there on the night and that’s when it all happened.
🔵 Cove Rangers can this evening confirm that central defender Morgyn Neill is to remain with the club.
Morgyn had been due to join Alloa Athletic on loan, but following the change in management, Paul Hartley has indicated he wants to keep the big man here at Balmoral Stadium.
— Cove Rangers FC (@CoveRangersFC) January 5, 2023
“It was just a matter of me speaking to the new manager; the way I’ve described it to people is it’s as if I was signing for Cove again. That was enough for me to say I wanted to be here.
“Last season was the best I’d ever had. I put myself under pressure when I signed, saying we were here to win the league. But I believed with the squad we had, we’d be up there (Cove went on to win League One).
“I got married in the summer, went on my honeymoon and, when I came back, I got the feeling something wasn’t clicking for me.
“Like any player would do, I spoke to the old manager and he said what he wanted to do. I tried to argue my case, that I should be playing, but sometimes your face just doesn’t fit.
“But that’s in the past now. Everyone knows how much I love this club, it’s the best club I’ve been at. I want that to continue.”
Neill still has a point to prove at Cove
His return to the fold did not go as planned, though, with Cove thumped 6-0 by Queen’s Park last weekend on his first league start since August.
Neill was a regular under Hartley last season and was named in the League One team of the season, having played a key part in their title win.
The change of manager at Cove has given him the chance of a fresh start and it is one he is keen to grab.
“I said to my dad, once I knew what was happening, that sometimes you feel like you’ve got nothing to prove,” he added. “Because I’ve worked under the gaffer and the fans know what they get with me.
“The other side of it is you do have something to prove, because I’ve been sitting on the bench for months. I’ve tried to fight my case to play, but I never got that chance.
“I’m not trying to come across bad in any way – I had the right attitude since day one when the old manager came in. The games I did play in, I know why I played in them because players talk.
“The only way I was going to play was if I went out on loan. I want to be playing games – I’m not a midfielder or striker that’s going to be coming on (as a substitute), so it’s harder being a defender or a goalie when you’re not playing.
“It was a risk for the new manager putting me in, because I’ve not played a lot. I don’t think I looked like I hadn’t played in four months.
“It’s not like I’ve been injured. I’ve been up here three times a week, doing everything I can. I’ve done extra bits on a Sunday, just to give myself that chance.”
Players need to ride out tough spell
The mood around Cove is far from buoyant just now, on the back of conceding six in back-to-back games.
After looking like stretching away from the bottom sides in the Championship, Cove find themselves only four points above Arbroath in the relegation play-off spot.
They welcome Raith Rovers to the Balmoral Stadium this afternoon, desperate to put things right.
‘Things change quickly’
“We can’t dwell on it,” said Neill. “It’s happened two weeks in a row, but everyone just needs to look at themselves individually.
“We want to put on a show that the fans deserve against Raith, because they didn’t deserve the last two games. Us players take the blame for that.
“I would say the majority of boys up here haven’t been used to these rough patches, because they’ve been used to winning from the Highland League, to League Two and League One.
“But you’re now playing against full-time players who are training every day. They’ve got hours on you. As part-time players, you’ve got to treat it a bit more (professionally) than you did in League One or League Two.
“Things change quickly. We only need to string a couple of results together and the tables have changed right away. You’re back in the pack that’s just in front of us.”