Callumn Morrison reveals key clause in Falkirk contract as he explains Hearts exit

Winger has an option which depends on promotion
Callumn Morrison is preparing for a new start with Falkirk.Callumn Morrison is preparing for a new start with Falkirk.
Callumn Morrison is preparing for a new start with Falkirk.

Still just a bairn himself, Callumn Morrison’s decision to leave Hearts for Falkirk brings proper adult pressure. Failure to help his new club climb out of League One this season will render the 21-year-old a free agent seeking another new team next summer.

Morrison’s one-year contract carries the option of a 12-month extension but only if Falkirk secure promotion back to the Scottish Championship. He knows the stakes are high. The responsibility might just be the making of a winger with potential to shine at a higher level.

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“I want to play every game this season, score a couple of goals and get a few assists. Hopefully I can help get the club up to the Championship. If they don’t go up, it’s in my contract that I’m free to go,” he told the Evening News in an exclusive interview.

“It’s a one-year contract and if they go up then it automatically extends. If they don’t go up, I think my contract is out. It’s a case of having a good season and see what happens.

“Hopefully they do go up, have a good season in the Championship and then we can take it from there.

“Personally, I think Falkirk are going to win the league. I said that a couple of weeks ago because I think they will go back up. That's why I felt it was best for me to go there.

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“They will have most of the ball in games and I’m an attacking player. It’s good for me if I can see a lot of the ball and get running at opponents to create chances.”

Leaving Hearts after seven years was a wrench for this Riccarton youth academy graduate. He still had a year remaining on his contract at Tynecastle Park.

Granted a senior debut by Robbie Neilson five years ago, Morrison understandably felt the manager’s recent return combined with Hearts’ demotion to the Championship enhanced his prospect of game time.

Neilson was honest in explaining the situation from his perspective, which ultimately led to the player’s exit.

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“I’m a bit gutted to leave Hearts. Robbie spoke to me two or three weeks ago and said if I find a club I can leave. He said it was best for me to go and play games given my age,” said Morrison.

“To be honest, when Robbie got the job at Hearts I thought: ‘He knows me from first time round and he gave me my debut.’ He played me in the Scottish Cup and put me out on loan to Stirling Albion, so I thought he must have liked me.

“Maybe he does like me but maybe he wants experience to get the club back up to the Premiership. I did think I was going to get my chance until he spoke to me.

“I’d rather he told me if I wasn’t going to play. He could have just said: ‘I’m going to assess you for four or five weeks and then we’ll see what’s happening.’

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“He came in, told me I need to play games and I said that was fine. I wasn’t being rotten about it, he was trying to help me. I spoke to a few clubs and decided Falkirk was best for me.”

There should be no concern about Morrison entering a completely unfamiliar environment. There are plenty friendly faces to welcome him at the Falkirk Stadium, where former Hearts colleagues Morgaro Gomis, Conor Sammon and Aidan Keena now ply their trade.

“It’s good to know boys who are there, plus I know Anton Dowds who just signed from East Fife. That will help me settle in,” said the winger.

More importantly, he should be pushing for a spot in the starting line-up every week. Falkirk coveted a direct wide player with an aggressive style to strengthen their attempt at a Championship return, and Morrison is just that.

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“I spoke to [head coaches] David McCracken and Lee Miller and they took a bit of interest,” he explained. “They brought me down to see the facilities and I was quite impressed with things like the gym and stuff they have.

“They said they liked the way I played. I’m obviously quick and direct and they said they were looking for that type of winger. It was nice to hear that.

“They were obviously happy with how it went and the next day they said they were going to offer me a contract. They had to wait for it to go through the board and then I got offered the deal the other day.

“I was in at Hearts training last week but I was hoping Falkirk would come back to me with something. I was happy to agree and it gives me a chance to play games again.”

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