NOTHING illustrates better the roll Morton are on at the moment than Sunday’s entertainingly eccentric draw for the fifth round of the William Hill Scottish Cup. Initially pulled out the hat to play Celtic due to a mix-up with the balls, any temporary disappointment at missing out on that cash cow quickly abated when they were handed a plum tie at Ibrox instead. That could be worth around £250,000 to the Championship club, a sum not to be sniffed at.

“We’re delighted with it," said Warren Hawke, the former Morton striker recently installed as their new chief executive. “There can’t be too many teams who land ties away to Celtic and Rangers in the same draw.”

If there’s any logic in the notion that you make your own luck, then few could deny Morton have earned the right to have a crack at a big tie and an even bigger payday. This has been a club seemingly forever down on its luck – they have been in the bottom tier of Scottish football more recently than they have the top one – but there is a feeling growing around Greenock that things are finally turning for the better.

Having led Morton out of League One at the first attempt, manager Jim Duffy has now navigated his side into third place in the Championship with a great chance of making the play-offs. Even if they fail to win promotion this term, the prospect of a division possibly shorn of both Hibernian and Dundee United next season would be very appealing indeed to a Morton side on the rise.

Progress, though, has been incremental and will continue to be. Even taking into account this unexpected cup windfall, money remains as tight as ever. Hawke has been brought in to try to wring every penny out of the budget, having been initially deployed by the club as a consultant and then opted onto the board in 2015.

On his watch Morton have established their own youth academy – five of their graduates played in the League Cup semi-final against Aberdeen – and rolled out an extensive community programme considered the best in the country. Hawke’s next project is to make things run more smoothly behind the scenes to help pave the way for Morton one day returning to the top division for the first time since 1988.

“We have to be a sustainable club as I never want to see a return of the situation we were in back in 2001 when we were going to the wall and Douglas Rae, our current chairman, saved us,” he says over coffee in the Cappielow boardroom, located deep within the bowels of the old main stand.

“He put a lot of money into the club and on an annual basis he’s continued to do so. I want to get to a position where this club is operating in the black on an annual basis but without having to rely on Mr Rae writing a cheque at the end of every year to offset any losses.

“This board has aspirations for the club to reach the next level. I’m a huge cycling fan and believe in Dave Brailsford’s theory about marginal gains. If we do a lot of the little things better right across the club that equals a much larger gain.”

Cappielow retains what estate agents would call “a rustic charm” but Hawke cannot envisage a day when Morton flit to a new custom-built stadium. “I don’t see us ever leaving here for the simple reason this is our home,” added the former Sunderland player who came off the bench for his boyhood heroes in the 1992 FA Cup final.

“We are looking at potential options for a community hub. We’re in discussions with key stakeholders to see if we can come up with something here that isn’t just for the football club but for Inverclyde in general.”

Like many others, Hawke awaits to see the finer details of the SFA’s Project Brave plans for youth development and what it might mean for the academy he helped set up. With neighbours and rivals St Mirren in danger of being relegated to League One, a merged regional academy would make logistical sense but Hawke can’t see it happening.

“We’ve got community programmes that cover an age spread from 18 months to 82 years old. So from a young age we have people wearing a Morton badge. We’re creating an identity within our community with thousands of participants. They would then get to the age of 10 and all of a sudden they’re not wearing the Morton badge any more as they’re joining, for example, the Renfrewshire/Inverclyde Academy. So you lose that connection. I wouldn’t rule it out but I don’t see us and St Mirren getting together for an academy. I think Rangers and Celtic would do that before us.”

That is for the future. For now Hawke is focusing on the present day and with Morton going well it is a happy place to be around.

“Jim has built phenomenal team morale,” the 46 year-old added. “I think you can often tell that just by the way the players and the management staff celebrate goals. There’s a feelgood factor throughout the team and behind the scenes as well.

“I would encourage all Morton people – even if you’re not supporting us regularly at the moment – to come along and see what’s been happening. Give us a chance, come experience the atmosphere and the positive vibe. It's a good place to be around right now."