Morton striker Alex Samuel hits high notes at Christmas concert

"I brought my guitar to training once and started singing."

Alex Samuel never stood a chance of keeping that a secret.

"One of the boys shared it and then the press got it and it kind of just went from there," said Greenock Morton's on-loan Swansea striker.

"I do have a go at him sometimes, but it's all good!"

The long and the short of it is that Samuel was approached about the possibility of performing at a special event in Morton's main stand on Sunday called 'Carols at Cappielow', organised by Inverclyde Christian Initiative and supported by Ton chairman Douglas Rae.

So, 24 hours after playing in front of more than 40,000 people at Ibrox in a 2-2 draw with Championship leaders Rangers, Samuel was singing a duet with girlfriend Rachael to an audience of about 1,000.

Alex Samuel and girlfriend Rachael Greenway perform their duet

"I know it's weird," explained the 20-year-old Welshman, who has scored crucial goals against Motherwell and St Mirren this season.

"Normally I'm here when I'm on the pitch, so to do something completely different by playing my guitar and singing is completely out there. It was really good; I enjoyed it.

"Last year Swansea did one for the first time at the Liberty Stadium and I did a reading. It was great to hear they were doing a carol service here.

"When the Rev asked if I wanted to play guitar and sing, I thought it was brilliant because I could step up from reading to singing!"

It was a nice Christmas scene for 'Carols at Cappielow'

Something else that Samuel has had no intention of keeping a secret is his Christian faith, a facet of his life that has enabled him to settle into a "close Morton unit" despite being 10 hours from his home city.

"I'm really happy at the moment," he added.

"I'm proud to be Christian. It helps me more than anything; rather than make it difficult for me. It helps me in every aspect of my life.

"When you are going out in front of 40,000, it can be intimidating, but you just know God is with you and he gets you through everything.

"My deal ends on 9 January and we're not sure yet what is happening. It's pretty uncertain but I am really enjoying it here and I'd like to stay."

Samuel's guitar will surely be involved in any further negotiations.